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+--- Thread: Coopers Pen vs. Harmony - Trelawny FA Major League final (/thread-100.html)
Coopers Pen vs. Harmony - Trelawny FA Major League final - fbjnewsie - 04-06-2017
A place in next season's Jamaica Football Federation Western Confederation Super League will be at stake today when former champions Coopers Pen FC and Harmony FC clash in the final of the Trelawny Football Association National Rums of Jamaica Monymusk Plantation Rum Major League at Elleston Wakeland Youth Centre in Falmouth, set to start at 3:00 pm.The winners of each of the four parish major leagues are guaranteed promotion places in the Super League and today's winners will be the first qualifiers to replace the four teams that were relegated at the end of the last season.
Harmony FC last played in the Super League in the 2010-2011 season, while Coopers Pen FC's last stint there was over 16 years ago, in the 1999 season.
The teams will also be going after their second title of the season as Coopers Pen FC had won the knock-out title at the start of the campaign, while Harmony FC are the mid-season champions.
The teams set up the clash after scoring contrasting victories over Salt Marsh United and Duanvale FC, respectively, in Sunday's return leg semi-finals at the same venue.
Coopers Pen scored a dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 extra time win on aggregate over Salt Marsh United, who came into the game with a 1-0 lead from the first leg, but were beaten 3-1 on Sunday.
Harmony FC outclassed a disorganised and wasteful Duanvale FC 2-0 on Sunday after the first game had ended 0-0 the previous weekend.
In the first game today, Salt Marsh United and Duanvale FC will meet at 1:00 pm in the third-place play-off.
The final is expected to be close between two teams that stayed in a virtual neck-and-neck race all season long and finished a point apart from each other after three rounds.
They drew 2-2 at Bounty Hall, Harmony FC's home grounds before Harmony FC won 2-0 in the return leg to win Zone One by three points on their way to beating Bacca Star United in the mid-season final.
Coopers Pen had the better third round, however, to top the overall points table with 38 points, one more than Harmony FC.
On form and based on their comeback against Salt Marsh United, Coopers Pen FC should start favourites, but Harmony FC will have the psychological advantage, having not lost to them in their two meetings earlier this season.
The fans could be treated to a goal fest after the teams combined for 77 in the regular season, 40 scored by Harmony FC, while they gave up 24 goals between them.
Shaunavan McKenzie and Desron Whyne, both of whom masterminded the second -half comeback last weekend, combined to score 20 of their team's 37 goals and a lot will depend on them today.
Former national player Troy Smith, despite playing in a defensive role, leads Harmony FC's scoring with nine goals, while player/coach Ricardo Reid has scored seven times, and Everette Mullings has scored six.
The Harmony defence will be tested by the non-stop running of the Coopers Pen team and goalkeeper Jermaine Maxwell could be in for a long afternoon.