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‘Water under the bridge’ - ‘Tappa’ Whitmore moves past visa issues after first-leg loss to LA Galaxy
March 13, 2026
Mount Pleasant Football Academy's (MPFA) head coach Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore said he has moved past the visa issues that plagued his team selection following their 3-0 loss to LA Galaxy in their round of 16 first leg tie in the Concacaf Champions Cup on Wednesday night.
The St Ann-based MPFA were forced to field a weaker squad after a number of their players were unable to secure a visa.
Of the players rejected, seven are Haitian nationals, with Haiti being one of the countries targeted in US President Donald Trump's immigration policies.
Whitmore said he will not use the missing players as an excuse following his team's loss, and has moved past the situation.
"I wouldn't point any fingers, you know. It is what it is, and it's water under the bridge. You just have to move on," Whitmore said.
Whitmore said they had put in a solid performance despite the result. He praised their showing throughout much of the game, but was disappointed in the manner in which they conceded the goals.
He explained they conceded within the first and final 10 minutes of the contest, which will be a point of concern for the second leg.
Whitmore explained that with a weakened squad, it allowed the club the opportunity to give experience to their young players without a professional environment.
"Despite the challenges, we would have had probably 12 or 13 of our regular players out, but we make no excuses. I thank the boys tonight, they put in a decent shift," Whitmore said.
"There's a lot we could take from this game. It gave our younger players the experience and they would understand the level of competition, so there's a lot to gain from this game, despite the result."
He continued, "The way we conceded the goals tonight, it was in the first 10 minutes of the game and the last 10 minutes of the game we conceded three goals. But overall, I think it was a decent performance from our team."
SECOND LEG
The second leg of the fixture will be played on March 19 at the National Stadium.
Whitmore said anything is possible as they will be focused on preparing for the return home leg as best as possible.
"This is football. We don't know what will happen so we just have to prepare ourselves," he said. "Recovery is important.
"As best as possible, we want to go out there and we want to represent Mount Pleasant. We know it's going to be difficult. We're going to make it difficult for the LA Galaxy team, but as I said before, I don't know what will happen,. But we'll give it 110 per cent."
