Mona to test Hydel depth today
Hydel High’s squad depth will be tested as they face a tough Group D assignment against Mona High in the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup at Caymanas Field today at 3:30 p.m.
In one of the other feature games, many time champions Jamaica College will host Innswood High at Old Hope Road in Group E. This will be the first game for the ‘Dark Blues’ since Monday’s feature clash with Wolmer’s Boys was abandoned with six minutes to play when lightning struck five players.
Hydel, the reigning Walker Cup champions, are second in the group with six points, having managed to recover from their 1-0 loss to Camperdown on Friday, with a 2-0 win at Tivoli Gardens High on Monday to register their second win of the campaign.
Hydel High technical director, Corey Bennett, made changes to Friday’s line-up and was pleased with the response from his players after the defeat, particularly to the tactical adjustments made with minimal preparation time.
“We shuffled the deck a little bit in terms of personnel on the field. We made some adjustments to tactics [because] we knew that going into Tivoli it wasn’t going to be an easy game,” he told STAR Sports.
“I thought the boys responded well with the adjustments that we made without practising it. I believe that our player choices resulted in a win. It could have been a more comfortable win but we are thankful never the less to have gotten the [result].”
Bennett’s changes were both by design and out of necessity as the players have been operating on short rest after playing three games in six days. However, he expects his team to be ready for a difficult game against Mona.
“We wanted to [tap] into our depth with the bench because of the game [Monday, because] we would be playing three games in six days. That would be a little much,” he said.
Mona, who qualified for the round of 16 last year in a group including the defending champions Kingston College, got their first win of the season last Friday, defeating Tivoli 1-0.
Ian Allen