HISTORIC QUEST

MOUNT Pleasant Football Academy Head Coach Theodore Whitmore says the club wants to continue raising the bar after booking their spot in consecutive Concacaf Caribbean Cup finals and qualifying for the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup. Mount Pleasant will defend their regional crown after beating Trinidad and Tobago’s Club Sando 2-0 in the second-leg semi-final at Sabina Park in Kingston on Thursday to advance 3-1 on aggregate. For the second week in a row, Trayvone Reid missed a penalty in the first half which would have settled the nerves of the St Ann-based club. However, second-half goals from national representatives Warner Brown and Nickalia Fuller spared Reid’s blushes and sent the defending champions into the final. Whitmore says he was pleased with the grit his team showed to get over the line. “It was always going to be a bit difficult,” he said. “Credit must be given to the Sando team. They came, they played and tried to get something out of it. We knew the longer the game went on, the more difficult it [would] be. After scoring that goal, I think we allowed them again in the game and they kept coming and coming but the second goal, I think, just sealed the issue.”

Mount Pleasant FA starting team players pose for a photo ahead of the Concacaf Caribbean Cup second leg, semi-final football match against Club Sando at Sabina Park in Kingston on Thursday, October 22. Photo: Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant FA’s Warner Brown (left) tries to turn away from LA Galaxy’s Maya Yoshida during the Concacaf Champions Cup round of 16 football match on March 19, 2026. Photo: Karl Mclarty

He also hailed the impact of the over 1,000 supporters who turned out at Sabina Park. “I think the fans always play an important role, [particularly] travelling supporters. It gives us extra motivation and you can see where they were on the players and we spoke about it at half-time in the dressing room.” The win means Mount Pleasant become the second club in history to book back-to-back finals appearances in the Caribbean Cup, joining fellow Jamaican club Cavalier FC who did so in 2023 and 2024. However, they will be the first club to defend their title as 2024 champions Cavalier and 2023 champions Robinhood of Suriname unable to make the final the following year. They will also play in the Champions Cup for the second time, after battling Major League Soccer (MLS) club Los Angeles Galaxy earlier this year. Although happy with the achievement, Whitmore says he wants the club to reach higher heights.

WHITMORE... we just have to keep building and keep building to make Mount Pleasant great Photo: Garfield Robinson

“It’s a very important milestone, for the club, for the players. We just have to keep building and keep building to make Mount Pleasant great,” he said. Mount Pleasant could play defending Jamaica Premier League (JPL) champions Portmore United in December’s final as they lead Haiti’s Violette 3-1 heading into Wednesday’s second leg. However, Whitmore says the club will turn their attention to their local objectives until the final comes around. “We don’t want to get over ourselves by qualifying but we just have to look at the Premier League now and start to get some points on the board,” he said. “It’s just to get the guys up and ready for the next game.” Mount Pleasant are expected to return to action on Monday when they battle JPL leaders Montego Bay United at Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.