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William Knibb, Spot Valley in top-of-the-table showdown
September 24, 2024
DESPITE winning as many games and only a three-goal difference separating the teams, Spot Valley High School coach Damion Nelson says they are the underdogs going into today's Zone D matchup against William Knibb Memorial High in the (ISSA)/WATA daCosta Cup football competition. The match will be played at William Knibb Memorial High in Trelawny at 3:30 p.m.
Both schools are on a four-game winning streak with 12 points in Zone D, with William Knibb atop.
"This year we want to create history and be the team going to the next round as first or second. It has been three to four years since going to the second round. It had been Cedric Titus and William Knibb who would always be the two top teams to go through. We are going to do what we have to do to create an upset," said Nelson, the school's second-year coach.
"Our mindset today is trying to be compact as a team, nullify them passing the ball and try not to concede a goal early. Preparations have been going well but what we are going to do is put some things we did in training into place and display that in the game," he pointed out.
Spot Valley began competing in the ISSA daCosta Cup in 2006. The team has advanced to the second round five times and the quarterfinals once, in 2016.
Meanwhile, coach of William Knibb, Dwight Jeremiah, believes that today's matchup will be their most difficult game of the round. He also believes winning will boost the players' confidence.
"It is to create clear daylight between ourselves and them," he said of their aim. "Right now, it's a little shade, so it is for us to try and win the game to be three points ahead. I can't speak to their overall quality; I would have to assess them further but I know they are full of confidence because they won four games.
"I expect them to be bubbling because confidence can take you far in terms of how you approach the game. I do expect them to come and try and win," Jeremiah told STAR Sports.
"I am not saying we are the favourites to win. Both of us are on 12 points, our goal difference is better than theirs. Our team hasn't conceded yet and we are playing at home, so all of that will be an indication pointing to us being the team expected to win," he added.
William Knibb began competing in the daCosta Cup in 1978. In 2002, they lost 1-0 to many-time champions Rusea's High School in their first and only trip to the finals.
