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‘We needed this’ - Gilbert exhales as MoBay United return to top of JPL standings
January 05, 2026
Montego Bay United (MBU) FC's head coach Xavier Gilbert said the team is recovering from a hurricane-induced slump and aims to improve, with an objective to surpass last year's semifinal finish.
The St James team bounced back from a two-game losing streak to edge Treasure Beach United FC 2-1 in their Jamaica Premier League clash yesterday at St Elizabeth Technical High School and reclaim top spot in the competition.
"We expect to be in the top four, nothing less. The objective is to do better than what we did last year for sure, which is make it to the finals. We are in first and we will continue on the path same way," said Gilbert.
Coming into the game as one of the teams that suffered the most during the hurricane, Gilbert said it was well-deserved win.
"For sure we are happy, we needed this. We are going to build from it. We are also going to continue to do what we have to do to make sure that we are successful at the end," added Gilbert.
The two wounded teams, who suffered the most during Hurricane Melissa, scored all three goals in the first half.
In their first game of the new year, Dwight Merrick opened the scoring for MBU in the fifth minute, and Deonjay Brown doubled the lead in the 22nd minute.
Treasure Beach's Tommy Lawrence pulled back a goal for his team in the 37th minute.
The result pushed MBU back atop on 29 points, with Racing United second on 28 points after a 0-0 draw with Waterhouse FC. Waterhouse are seventh with 16 points, while Treasure Beach remain 13th on 12 points.
Despite losing and their lowly position, Kemar Ricketts, coach of Treasure Beach FC, says they are not harbouring thoughts about relegation.
"We are far from thinking that. The team has a couple of games in hand, we have a long, long season, and we are talking about 27 games," said Ricketts.
"If you check all of those points out, we are just aiming to stay in and reach a level. I think by working face by face we will be there," added Ricketts, whose team pushed hard for an equaliser against the MBU defence, which remained disciplined under pressure.
