UWI searching for ‘killer instinct’
SINCE BEING promoted to the Red Stripe Premier League in the 2015/16 season, UWI FC have never been too far away from the top of the league, making the play-offs twice. This season may be the difference, however, as the ‘Pelicans’ find themselves rooted in the relegation zone with only two wins all season.
At the helm of the team is head coach Andrew Peart, who acknowledged the problems that his team has been having so far this season. In what can be described as a less-than-impressive season so far, Peart says that solutions must be found if UWI are to ensure their survival.
“So far it’s not lived up to the standards that we wanted, as you see that we’re in the relegation zone right now,” he said. “We will have to find solutions to help ourselves if we want to stay in the league next season.”
‘We have the talent. We just need to improve on our mentality and our killer instincts to get the job done.’
MAJOR CHANGE
UWI sit 11th in the league with 15 points from 19 games. At this stage last season, they had 26 points. Peart says that the changes in personnel is a major reason behind the difference in points.
“Last year is a much-changed team than the one now,” he said. “The fact is that this season about 80 per cent of our team are students and last year we had 45 per cent. The composition of the team has been different. Also, we’ve been conceding too many goals and that is one of our biggest problems.”
UWI’s last outing saw them taking on Tivoli Gardens at the Edward Seaga Complex. The match was a physical representation of all the problems UWI have been faced with. After taking an early two goal lead, the Pelicans were unable to secure all three points after conceding two late goals with the game ending in a 2-2 draw.
Peart said that a lack of concentration has been a plague on his team this season.
“It should be more of a team performance at that stage of the game where we’re leading, and then failed to hang on to the lead, so we need to focus a little bit more on our concentration and the team defending better,” Peart said. “You can’t just rely on the goals you have. You have to keep defending. It’s a team effort.”
UWI will face an uphill task when they take on Mount Pleasant at the UWI Mona Bowl in their final match of 2019 tomorrow, and will be hoping for a more positive outcome as they prepare for the new year.
“The mood right now is to save ourselves. We have the talent. We just need to improve on our mentality and our killer instincts to get the job done.”