Their exploits to end as the number one ranked team in the preliminary round is now a thing of the past and Portmore United will be seeking to go all the way in the 2015/16 season of the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL).

The former champions, who were left out in the cold for the 2014/15 season, made a spirited return to the nation’s top flight this season and have not looked back since. They registered 18 wins from their 33 games, while drawing seven and losing a mere eight on their way to topping the 12-team table with 61 points.

Having scored 42 goals and conceding 29, Portmore United are ranked as the third best attacking outfit overall and second best in away fixtures.

With this vein of form Technical Director Andre Waugh is optimistic that team can improve on its statistics when they travel to Effortville in Clarendon for their first-leg semi-final date with Humble Lion on Sunday.

“We are now past the Cinderella story, if that is what you want to call it; this is a semi-final, so naturally players are upbeat and players are looking to get the most out, so there is a positive vibe within the camp.

“I saw them in the training today (yesterday) and they were really competitive and the spirit is good, so we are looking to really go all the way,” Waugh told the Jamaica Observer.

“It (the game) is always going to be a big challenge, given the history of the two clubs and given the fact that a number of our former players are playing for that club, so there is always going to be a rivalry.

“But that aside, it is a semi-final and that generates a greater level of rivalry, greater level of passion and fight. So we are really looking to have a very tough game on Sunday, and hopefully it can be a very attractive game that is good for the public and we are coming with all guns blazing,” he added.

Both teams have been rated highly for their tactical prowess, more so in their defensive and attacking departments. But Portmore United, the five-time champions, possess the likes of top marksman Javon East, Ricardo Morris, Malique Foster, Michael Binns, veteran Omar Daley and Tramaine Stewart, among others.

With this in mind, Waugh, who is also the physical trainer of the senior Reggae Boyz, exuded confidence that the high-level preparation and quality of players within the squad could prove decisive on the day.

“We just want to be competitive; we want to outplay them in all departments and I believe, as I reiterated that to the players earlier this morning, that it is important that our preparation is diligent,” Waugh noted.

“As a coach, my confidence really comes from my preparation and not necessarily on match day. I am aware that if we prepare ourselves well, then we have the ammunition and we have the quality players at our disposal that can affect a game positively any day,” he continued.

The rivalry between both teams intensified earlier this year following a boardroom squabble, when Humble Lion was cited to have breached regulations for the use of an ineligible player against Portmore United.

Portmore United subsequently gained three points from the fixture, in which the Clarendon-based team was said to have utilised the player whose free agent status had not yet been in effect.

Waugh noted that the boardroom scuffle was an unfortunate event.

“It is unfortunate what took place between ourselves and Humble Lion… it is not proving that we were better than them, [but] just about going out there and handling our business and being as professional as possible and getting the job done,” said Waugh as he addressed journalists at a press conference at Red Stripe’s Spanish Town Road offices yesterday.