ALL SQUARE WITH ALL TO PLAY FOR - JPL teams square off in quarterfinal second legs after breathtaking firsts

After two breathtaking Jamaica Premier League (JPL) first-leg quarterfinals, all four teams have everything to play for when they meet in today's second legs at the National Stadium.

Both first-leg matches ended in draws, with Racing United coming from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with Portmore United while Cavalier overcame a 2-0 deficit against Waterhouse to earn a 2-2 draw.

In the first game today, Cavalier take on Waterhouse at 6:00 p.m., and Portmore United tackle Racing in the second game at 9 p.m.

After his team’s dramatic turnaround against Portmore on Sunday, Racing coach Anthony Patrick said despite their inexperience at the playoffs, they have to be mentally ready to avoid a similar first-half debacle.

"Three-quarters of this team, it's the first they are in a playoff, but we rallied and got it together as quickly as possible in the second half and got back in the game."

Patrick also pointed out that the first goal, to cut the lead to 3-1, was vitally important.

"The first goal gave us that drive that push and the supporters in the stands cheering us on," he said 

Nevertheless, approaching the second leg with the right mindset will be crucial to their chances, he said.

"We just have to look how we finished the game and go with that frame of mind in the second leg, Wednesday. Once we can go with that frame of mind and with that urgency, then it will be a different ball game.

"We have the quality, but we have to start the game on the right footing and then we will know if we can take this one," he said.

Portmore coach Rodolph Austin was dumbfounded after letting their three-goal advantage slip from their grasp in the first leg.

"It’s not acceptable the types of goals that we conceded. It's just not in our nature, but it's football, and the game was not finished, " he said.

However, he insists they will have to defend far better to see off their Portmore rivals.

"They went three at the back and started going long, and we didn't deal with the long balls well. I don't think we defended well. We gave away three goals. So we will have to defend better than that," he added.

In the opening game, Waterhouse will make another attempt to unseat defending champions Cavalier.

Cavalier assistant coach David Laylor noted that they started too slowly on Sunday and would try to make a much stronger start to Wednesday's second leg.

"We gave up two early goals. We started real slow, and Waterhouse capitalised on it, but this has been one of the best Waterhouse teams for a long while.

"They had a good run in the first seven minutes of the game, but we made some adjustments and got back in the game, and we will make adjustments again on Wednesday."

Waterhouse coach Javier Ainstein said his team lost focus after going 2-0 up and insists they cannot take the champions lightly again.

"I wasn't surprised. I know the strengths of Cavalier are set pieces, mid-block, and low-block. I wasn't surprised (by the comeback), but we need to be more kind with the ball. Cavalier are just waiting for a mistake to do quick transition, and we need to avoid that," he said.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com