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Cavalier edge Mount Pleasant in Lynk Cup
April 20, 2023
The Rudolph Speid-coached Cavalier booked a spot in the Lynk Cup semifinals last night as they edged Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore's Mount Pleasant 1-0 in their second-leg quarterfinal fixture at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex to progress 2-1 on aggregate.
Mount Pleasant have themselves to blame as they created several chances but were wasteful in front of the goal.
Talisman Trivante Stewart was close in the 41st minute, but his effort went high over the crossbar from inside the box, and two minutes later, he was denied by a brilliant save from Cavalier goalkeeper Vino Barclett.
On the stroke of halftime, Cavalier also came close, but Dwayne 'Busy' Atkinson's right-footed effort crashed into the woodwork.
The second half failed to live up to the ending of the first 45 minutes and seemed to be heading to extra time until Gadail Irving came up with a moment of brilliance as his curling left-footed effort crept inside the Mount Pleasant goal in the 91st minute handing Cavalier a hard-fought victory.
Coach Whitmore blamed costly mistakes along with poor finishing for their loss.
"I think we didn't make use of our chances upfront, and our decision-making was poor, which cost us the game. I think in the last couple minutes, simple mistakes also added to that. I wouldn't say I'm disappointed because I think we were in the game from the start, up to when we conceded the late goal. In the first half, we dominated possession, especially in the final third," said Whitmore.
Winning coach Speid admitted that his players were chasing the game in the first 45 minutes but revealed that a halftime team talk proved decisive.
"I'm very pleased because if you noticed, we only made one change, but in a game like this, we had to try and use the more experienced players. The first half was like trying to catch raindrops, we were simply just behind.
"We went in (halftime) without conceding, and we knew that the second half would have been much better. We knew the problems that were occurring, and we solved them in the second half," Speid said.
