Cavalier, Harbour View clash in Caribbean Cup semis
Published:Tuesday | October 24, 2023 | 12:10 AM
Local rivals Cavalier and Harbour View will be in the spotlight today when they square off in the first leg of the Concacaf Caribbean Cup semifinals which kicks off at 7 p.m. at Sabina Park.
Cavalier, the form team of the competition and the only unbeaten one to date, will be many pundits’ favourites coming into the contest but coach Rudolph Speid believes it’s anybody’s game.
“On any given day, any of these teams can beat each other as we know each other well. The teams that we played before didn’t know us, so that is why this is more difficult because both teams can make it difficult for their opponents today,” Speid said.
He anticipates that it will be a keenly contested match but declared that their objective on the night is not to lose.
“It is going to be interesting. I think it is going to be close. I really do not have an idea of what the outcome will be because over the years, Harbour View and Cavalier have had some very close clashes but we are prepared.
“It is over two legs, so we do not necessarily have to win the tie from the first leg. We need to come away from this game without losing and then we take it from there,” he said.
Harbour View coach Ludlow Bernard said although they have been a bit inconsistent, they firmly have their sights on making the final and he believes they have the pedigree to accomplish this.
“I think we have been inconsistent. We started out well but we didn’t win that final game, a game I thought we should have won. But we aim to set things straight this time around,” he said.
“We are looking forward to the game and looking forward to the final in particular because first and second are very important to us, as we have a history of being champions in this competition before.”
The youthful Cavalier will look to the competition’s leading scorer Shaneil Thomas, who has seven goals in four matches, and wily winger Jalmaro Calvin along with captain and mainstay of the defence, Kyle Ming.
Harbour View, so far, have looked to Omar Thompson and Shaquile Bradford in attack, while captain and defensive lynchpin Odorland Harding will return after missing the final group game defeat to Moca FC of the Dominican Republic.
The other semifinal will see Moca hosting Robinhood of Suriname.