‘WE HAVE A JOB TO DO’

Mount Pleasant Football Academy head into today’s Concacaf Caribbean Cup second-leg semi-final against Club Sando of Trinidad and Tobago at Sabina Park at 6 p.m., holding a valuable away-goal advantage after securing a 1-1 draw in the first leg.

Despite that edge, head coach Theodore Whitmore says the focus remains firmly on completing the task and booking a place in a second consecutive final.

“Looking forward to finishing the job we started. The focus remains the same. We don’t want to take anything for granted. The fact that we have a goal away, we just want to be positive and come in and get the job done,” said Whitmore.

Mount Pleasant took the lead in the first leg and later missed a penalty before conceding a second-half equaliser, but Whitmore said his players understand the magnitude of the assignment before them.

“They know the task at hand. It’s not difficult. Once we can be ruthless in both boxes, it will be a job well done,” he continued.

“We did a lot of things well (first leg). It’s just to be more consistent in the things that we do and keep doing it for 90-plus minutes.

“We don’t want to be overconfident, but we have a job to do. We want to reach the final, but we have 90-plus minutes ahead of us, so that’s where the focus is.”

While a 0-0 draw would be enough to send the Jamaican club through to the title decider, Whitmore believes the team’s best defensive approach remains an attacking one.

“Every goals that is scored, it’s always a mistake. Defensively, we are solid, but the best part of the defence starts from attacking. So once we get that right we should be smooth sailing,” he stated.

Club Sando head coach Angus Eve believes his team was the better side in the opening encounter, but said a lack of self-belief prevented them from fully capitalising on their performance.

However, he insists the tie remains wide open if his players back themselves.

“We didn’t believe in ourselves as much as we should have. We probably took the reputation of the team and what they have done. We started slow but we built into the game, and I thought we were the better team on the night.

“The belief factor should raise in the team. I thought we looked the fitter team and we are not in season. We looked really, really strong and now we have an opportunity to play them in their backyard,” he said.

“It is for the guys to believe in themselves. Believe that they belong in this competition because they have proven that’s so far.

“If they continue to believe in themselves and play the football that we have been in training, I think it will all go good for us going through the remainder of the tournament.”

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com