MoBay getting ready for Caribbean Cup foray

Montego Bay United Chairman Yoni Epstein believes the club is finally ready to turn years of near misses into a Caribbean Cup appearance, expressing full confidence in the organisation’s structure as it seeks a return to the regional stage.

MoBay have come close on several occasions to securing regional football and narrowly missed qualification for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Shield last year.

Needing a win to secure a place in the competition, MoBay suffered a 3-2 defeat to Mount Pleasant Football Academy in the third-place play-off of the Jamaica Premier League (JPL).

Epstein is confident the club can go one step further this season and believes its latest recruitment drive, along with the return of key players, will strengthen its push for a regional berth.

He also pointed to the club’s new coaching structure, with Xavier Gilbert serving as technical director and Argentine Javier Ainstein as head coach, as evidence of its ambitions.

“We just barely missed it every year. We’re getting closer and closer,” Epstein told The Gleaner.

“But this year, we certainly believe that this year is the year, based upon the work we did in the transfer window, the players that we have coming back; and just looking at our approach to the season, I think this year is definitely the year for us.”

MoBay have recruited the likes of Vino Barclett, Melvin Doxilly and Jermy Nelson to bolster their squad, while Jourdaine Fletcher has also returned to the club.

For Epstein, qualifying for regional competition represents the next step in MoBay’s development and would help restore the club to former heights.

MoBay last competed regionally in 2017, when they qualified for the now-defunct Caribbean Club Championship.

The club also played in the 2015-16 Concacaf Champions League but were eliminated in the group stage.

The club’s ambitions are also being supported by improvements at Catherine Hall, which Epstein hopes will eventually become a Concacaf-approved venue.

He believes qualification would provide a major boost for football in western Jamaica, particularly as the country seeks to increase the number of venues capable of hosting international competition.

“To have more pitches in Jamaica for Caribbean Cup football, Jamaica Premier League, national matches, male and female, other international clubs coming to utilise the facilities, it’s really something for the country,” he said.

“It would be tremendous, not only for MoBay, but just for the country as a whole.”

MoBay will begin their pursuit of Caribbean football when they open their JPL campaign against Phoenix Chapelton Maroons on Sunday.

The club will need to finish in the top six to qualify for the JPL play-offs, where they will battle for a place among the league’s top three teams.

The two JPL finalists will qualify for the Caribbean Cup, while the third-placed team will earn a spot in the CFU Club Shield.

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com