FRESH from qualifying for next season’s CONCACAF Club Championships in Trinidad, Montego Bay United (MBU) will have little time to rest before turning their attention to defending their Red Stripe Premier League title against Arnett Gardens at the National Stadium on Monday night.

It will be the third consecutive national finals to be contested by Montego Bay United after beating Waterhouse 5-2 in last season’s RSPL decider and coming up just short against Reno FC in the JFF Flow Champions Cup Knockout finals earlier this season.

Montego Bay United just failed to qualify for the finals of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club championships and an automatic place in the CONCACF event, losing 1-0 to W Connection in the semi-finals on Friday at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, Trinidad.

They rebounded two days later to beat Don Bosco of Haiti to take third place and qualify for the continental championships for the first time, joining Harbour View and Waterhouse as the only Jamaican teams to get to the lucrative tournament.

But come Monday, Montego Bay United will hope to continue their good run against Arnett Gardens, the regular season champions, but who are yet to beat MBU this season. In three meetings between the teams, MBU hammered Arnett Gardens 5-0 in a first-round game that ended a record run of 11 games unbeaten by the Jerome Waite-coached team; then drew the next two that were played in Kingston. MBU is the only team that Arnett have not beaten all season.

It has been a tough period for MBU after two bruising semi-finals against Waterhouse FC in a week, then jetting off to the eastern Caribbean for the CFU final round, returning home for what is expected to be another fight to the finish.

MBU has been on a purple patch in the RSPL scoring an aggregate 8-2 win over Waterhouse, and if they show up in the same form, Arnett Gardens could be in for a difficult evening.

Arnett Gardens had prevailed over first-time semi-finalists Humble Lion 3-2 in a close and exciting game.

Up to earlier this week, it was not certain whether MBU midfielder Keniel Kirlew would be fit to take part after suffering a nasty gash- which took 14 stitches to close- on his lower left leg in the first- leg semi-final against Waterhouse.

Inspirational midfielder Fabian McCarthy is out for the season, but the team has shown they can rise to the occasion and deliver when it matters.

Strikers Dino Williams and Allan Ottey have been on a tear, combining for five of the eight goals against Waterhouse, and will lead the team on Monday.

The game could be won in the midfield, however, where Dwayne Ambusley pulls the strings for MBU, and he is expected to be partnered by Jermaine Woozencroft who had an outstanding game in the first leg semi-finals, as well as Ronaldo Rodney.

Ladale Richie has quietly become the leader of the defensive unit that has allowed just three goals in their last four games.

Arnett Gardens will present a formidable opponent for the MBU team as after topping the tables with 73 points, 13 better than second-placed Waterhouse, and with the most goals scored — 64, but they will come up against the best defensive team with only 28 goals allowed in 35 games.