STATHS coach buoyant after big win
IF the confidence exuded by Phillip Williams about the brand of football expected from his St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) team is anything to go by, then they are poised to again make it to at least the semi-finals of this Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (Issa)/digicel Manning Cup season.
Williams, who expressed delight with STATHS’S 5-0 thumping of Dunoon Technical at their Bumper Hall base on Saturday, reiterated his ambition for the team to execute efficiently on each outing.
The five-star performance was led by different scorers in Leon Brown (18th), Alexavier Gooden (29th), Omar Reid (40th), Richard Livingston (60th) and Shakeone Satchwell (65th), as they made it two wins in as many outings.
STATHS head Group D on six points, three ahead of Jonathan Grant whose game against Spanish Town was not played due to a waterlogged Prison Oval pitch. Norman Manley also moved to three points following a 1-0 win over Tarrant.
“We are playing a good brand of football, if you ask me, and we have been consistent with our quality — and this is what we require of the boys and they are producing day in and day out. We see where we can have different players scoring, and that gives us some confidence,” Williams said in a post-game interview.
After Brown, Gooden and Reid combined to put STATHS 3-0 up at the break. The writing was then on the wall for Dunoon Technical who struggled to find a response to the onslaught.
Despite playing in tough underfoot conditions, STATHS were still able to show glimpses of their potential with some tidy build-up executioins at times so it came as no surprise that they were able to continue scoring.
Captain Livingston got in on the act at the hour mark as he broke down the left channel before comfortably finishing beyond Nickoy Taylor in goal for Dunoon.
Satchwell then fired home a firm, left-footed drive from the top of the 18-yard box five minutes later.
Though they continued to dominate proceedings, their probe to add to their tally proved futile.
Phillips spoke glowingly about the display as a mere sign of what is to come.
“The expectations is always the same. The preparation is there for us to make deep runs in the competition and we are hopeful that our execution will match our preparation,” he said.
“The experience that they gathered last season has been valuable. They are playing the system more consistently and at a high level. It’s a young bunch, but that doesn’t give us an excuse not to play good football so these guys will be playing good football for the rest of the season,” Phillips declared.
SATURDAY’S RESULTS Group D
STATHS 5, Dunoon 1 Norman Manley 1, Tarrant 0 Spanish Town vs Jonathan Grant (not played)