When friends become foes

AT LEAST once per week, Montego Bay United (MBU) put up a united front as they strive to bring silverware back to the Second City in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL), but this week things are a little different.

Five of the players will have to put aside their friendships to do battle against each other as the ever-increasingly cosmopolitan JPL will see them facing each other rather than facing opposition side to side.

Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz have among their squad members Shaniel Thomas and Demario Phillips but their teammates Dranell Hospedales, Aaron Enill, and Josiah Trimmington are part of a Trinidad and Tobago unit set to battle them on February 6 at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in St James, and again on February 9 at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex in Kingston.

Enill, who is earning his sixth cap is looking forward to the duel.

“It will be a friendly rivalry but once you are wearing different uniforms it is always war. It is a must-win game. Shaniel has work to do and I have work to do because he has 10 goals, and I have 11 or 12 clean sheets. It will be a tough matchup that I am looking forward to. However, at the same time, those are my brothers, so there is still love,” the T&T custodian Enill told The Gleaner.

The goalkeeper has played for T&T in two friendlies against Guyana and four World Cup qualifiers.

The 24-year-old Thomas is in the race for the Golden Boot this season, notching 10 goals to be in a three-way tie for second with Arnett Garden’s Warner Brown and teammate MBU’s Brian Brown. The three are two goals behind Cavalier’s Jalmaro Calvin.

MBU sit second in the standings with 44 points after their 2-0 defeat against Dunbeholden on Sunday.

Friendly rivalry

Phillips, who has 11 caps, said playing against his MBU teammates should be fun.

“I will dismantle them and run past them. It is a friendly rivalry because I am playing against my brothers. It will be fun to play against them knowing their strengths and weaknesses, so I will take advantage of that. With Jamaica versus Trinidad, there has been a rivalry from the ‘90s taking place, so we have to take it seriously. My first debut was against T&T in 2023,” Phillips said.

Whatever happens, the five will be as close as they were before a shot was taken in anger, but Phillips doesn’t believe the encounter will be forgotten as soon as they leave the pitch.

“I am very happy for my clubmates because it shows that the club is doing very well. They are great players and it will be tough going against them. It is a happy feeling to face off because afterwards we can go back to the club and laugh about it,” Phillips added.

Hospidales believes getting one … or two over his teammates is something to look forward to.

“To be honest it is a good thing for me and motivator to know that I have two teammates from MBU playing for the Jamaica squad. I would want to win against them and would want to beat them. I will have to just follow my coach’s instructions and play to the best of my ability and do what I can do in the matches,” Hospedales said.

The 25-year-old midfielder was first selected in 2023 when the Soca Warriors faced Saint Martin in Trinidad and wants to impress Yorke on the second time of the asking.

“I want to impress my coach and to cement myself among the national players in my country. I would say it is a friendly rivalry because Trinidad and Jamaica, these are regular games that happen throughout the course of the year and it has always been like a friendly rivalry.”