Mount Pleasant carries Jamaican pride into Caribbean Cup title defense
Reigning Caribbean Cup champion begins its title defense with ambitions of representing St. Ann and Jamaican football on the regional stage.
KINGSTON, Jamaica — For Mount Pleasant FA, defending its Concacaf Caribbean Cup crown represents more than an opportunity to add another trophy. As the reigning champion begins another campaign, the Jamaican club is embracing the opportunity to represent St. Ann and Jamaican football on the regional stage.
Mount Pleasant FA opens the defense of its Concacaf Caribbean Cup title against the Dominican Republic’s Cibao FC on Tuesday. The two will meet in their Group B encounter at Kingston’s National Stadium, with kickoff slated for 5 p.m. local time.
Mount Pleasant secured its place in this year’s Caribbean Cup by edging another Dominican club, Delfines del Este, in the final of the CFU Club Shield. The Jamaican side claimed a 1-0 victory in the final to lift the trophy on August 2 at Ato Boldon Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago.
Mount Pleasant Sporting Director Paul Christie told Concacaf.com that retaining its Caribbean Cup title would go beyond glory for the club, serving a broader purpose.
“We have our first encounter this Tuesday. We go into the first encounter to represent the brand, Mount Pleasant, the people of St. Ann and Jamaica. We hope to do that with distinction and start the defense of our title on a successful note,” he said.
Christie noted that Cibao is a familiar opponent and should not be taken lightly.
“They are technical, they move the ball fast and they love to possess the ball. We know that they are a strong and worthy opponent and we are going to treat them with the respect that they deserve,” he stated.
He also sought to underline that every team in the tournament is worthy of respect based on the quality of football each is capable of producing.
“These are all strong, solid and worthy opponents, so we are aware of that. We just want to take it game by game, do the best that we can and then we leave with the results,” Christie reasoned.
“Everybody knows that at this point, we are actually getting up there and reaching a higher quality of opponents. This is the next level, and we are mindful of that.”
Christie said that Mount Pleasant is always aiming high, and bringing the best version of itself to these regional tournaments is truly representative of the spirit of the club.
“We know that if we are prepared to be the best, we have to go and compete with the best and there's no better platform to do it than in the Caribbean Cup,” he argued. “Hopefully if we get success at this level, we can go and do it against clubs from North and Central America.”
Christie takes pride in how quickly players—old and new—have adapted to the club’s model and philosophy, which he believes is helping to drive the club’s successes.
“We have acquired a few new pieces to the puzzle, and they have settled well. They immediately understand the mandate; they fully understand that we are just trying to move from strength to strength.
“The players know; they all know. They all know that this is the [elite] level for this region.”
Christie credited the technical team, led by Theodore Whitmore and Davion Ferguson, for helping drive the club’s progress in recent years.
“We are aware of the task and we are trying. As I said before, we continue to trust the leadership of Mr. Whitmore and Mr. Ferguson. We just continue to prepare, and we try to pay a little more attention to details and try to improve, try to get better,” Christie said.
“We continue to increase confidence in the project, and hopefully, we can reap some positive results... We just continue to work, and we know that things will fall into place. And that's what we are about,” he added.
