No turning back

DESPITE Cavalier FC being dethroned as champions of the Wray & Nephew Jamaica Premier League (JPL), Assistant Coach David Laylor says
the club remains committed to its philosophy of developing and trusting young players.

Cavalier will begin pre-season for the 2026/2027 season in the coming weeks as they prepare to compete in the 2026 Concacaf Caribbean Cup, having qualified for the competition for an impressive four consecutive seasons.

The 2024 champions open their campaign on August 5 in Group B, where they have been drawn alongside Portmore United, who defeated them in the JPL final, Dominican Republic clubs Cibao FC and Salcedo FC, and the winner of the CFU Club Shield, which Mount Pleasant Football Academy are hoping to win.

The Rudolph Speid-led club will enter the competition as runners-up from the recently concluded JPL season after losing to Portmore 5-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw following regulation and extra time.

Cavalier were looking to make it three consecutive title lifts after doing so in 2024 and 2025. Although they were unable to create more history, Laylor says this season’s run to the final is further proof of the club’s successful approach.

“The reality is that we are rebuilding. This season was a rebuilding season for us so for us to really reach the final and really coming this far, we barely made it to the top six, so at the end of the day, it’s a real good achievement and it speaks to the quality of coaching that the team has been getting,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

“It speaks to the quality of youngsters that we have but it also speaks to the fact that as coaches, they really responded well to us and we have an excellent system that Mr Speid put together, and it worked. We’re looking for more seasons and more achievement from these youngsters because I believe they have real quality.”

Cavalier boasted the youngest squad in the league with the average age of 20. Key members of last year’s unit including Reggae Boyz Richard King, Dwayne Atkinson and Jalmaro Calvin all departed along with several Caribbean players including Shaquille Stein and Vino Barclett. In total, the club lost 20 players between last summer and the end of the January transfer window.

However, the club brought in several teenagers from their youth set-ups and other clubs including Excelsior High’s Manning Cup winning striker Kimarly Scott and Trinidadian defender Akil Henry, who played key roles in their run to the final. They also added former Waterhouse Head Coach Marcel “Fuzzy” Gayle and former Harbour View FC Assistant Coach Sean Fraser to their coaching staff.

It was a remarkable turnaround for Cavalier who were as low as eighth in February and were knocked out of the Caribbean Cup group stage for the first time in their history.

Laylor says he is confident the recently concluded season will help the players mature and better navigate similar situations in the future. He pointed to Terence Williams, who was inconsolable after missing Cavalier’s only penalty in the shoot-out defeat in the JPL final.

“We have to just continue to coach the system and just keep pressing these youngsters, we have to just continue to develop them mentally because I think if we had got the mental toughness a little earlier, we could have done a little better,” he said. “Even in the final because as you realised, the youngster that kicked the penalty and missed. I don’t know that he will live it down but we talk him through it and at the end of the day, he’ll have to learn from it.”

“It’s a learning curve for him [and] for us but we have to allow them because we like to play our youngsters and give them the opportunity. So it was just one of those opportunities that just missed but we’ll continue to give youngsters opportunities like this. It’s just part of the football game and part of the development of the club.”

Cavalier’s opening game of the Caribbean Cup will be on August 5 when they travel to Santiago to take on Cibao FC.

Phillando Wing (left) of Montego Bay United challenges Kimarly Scott of Cavalier FC as Richardo Ramsey looks on during the Jamaica Premier League first-leg semi-final football match at the National Stadium on May 17, 2026. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)