Mount Pleasant Reach Caribbean Cup Final, Seal Champions Cup Berth

Defending champions Mount Pleasant Football Academy are through to the final of the 2026 Concacaf Caribbean Cup after a 2-0 second-leg win over Trinidad and Tobago's Club Sando at Sabina Park on Thursday, completing a 3-1 aggregate victory.Second-half goals from Warner Brown and Nickalia Fuller secured the result for the Jamaican outfit, which had drawn the first leg 1-1. The win also guaranteed Mount Pleasant qualification for the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup.Mount Pleasant should have taken the lead in the first half when Trayvone Reid had a 36th-minute penalty saved by Club Sando goalkeeper Teshorne Ragoo after Kyle Ming was brought down in the box. The home side eventually broke the deadlock when Brown received a pass from Reid at the top of the box and struck a right-footed shot to the bottom-right corner. Reports differ on the timing: one account places the goal in the 57th minute, while another says the 56th.Club Sando nearly equalised minutes later when Luke Phillip failed to hit the target from close range after Mount Pleasant goalkeeper Shaquan Davis mishandled Daniel David's low cross from the right. Fuller sealed the win in stoppage time, receiving a ball in space down the left before cutting in and finishing to the bottom-left corner. One report places the goal in the fourth minute of added time, another in the 90th minute plus three.Club Sando can still qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup first round if they win their third-placed playoff game.Mount Pleasant will face the winner of the other semifinal between Violette AC and Portmore United in the 2026 Caribbean Cup final, scheduled for December 1 and 5. The second leg of that semifinal is set for Sabina Park on October 28, with Portmore United holding a 3-1 advantage from the first leg.The victory extends Mount Pleasant's defence of the Caribbean Cup title they won previously, and the club will now await the conclusion of the other semifinal to learn their final opponent. The final will be played over two legs on December 1 and 5, with the aggregate winner lifting the 2026 Caribbean Cup.For Club Sando, the defeat ends their hopes of reaching the final, but the Trinidad and Tobago club retains a route to the Concacaf Champions Cup through the third-placed playoff. The winner of that playoff will secure a place in the first round of the Champions Cup.Mount Pleasant's qualification for the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup marks another milestone for the Jamaican club, which has now secured its place among the region's top teams. The Champions Cup is the premier club competition in the Concacaf region, and Mount Pleasant will join the ranks of Caribbean clubs competing at that level.The second leg of the other semifinal between Portmore United and Violette AC was rescheduled and will be played at Sabina Park on October 28. Portmore United hold a 3-1 advantage from the first leg, putting them in a strong position to advance to the final against Mount Pleasant.