Los Perfectos preparing for tough JWPL semi-final clash
If Los Perfectos are to achieve their season's ambition of entering the Jamaica Women's Premier League (JWPL) final, they will have to do what no other team has done this season, defeat defending champions Frazsiers Whip.
Los Perfectos booked their spot in the JWPL semi-finals after finishing fourth in the league's regular season phase.
They advance with 40 points from their 20 games played, recording 13 wins, one draw and six defeats.
They will be joined in the semi-finals by defending champions Frazsiers Whip, Arnett Gardens and Cavalier who tallied 58, 50 and 48 points, respectively.
By virtue of their finish, they have been paired against Frazsiers Whip for their semi-final fixture, one which head coach Maurice Duncan recognises as a difficult task.
In their two meetings this season, Los Perfectos fell to Frazsiers Whip on both occasions, losing 7-2 and 2-0.
Duncan hopes they can turn the tables on their opponents this time around and will be focusing on crafting the best game plan.
"It's a hard task ahead of us," he said. "But we know that the game of football is one of the most unpredictable.
"It tells you that no matter what you have to do, once you plan properly and execute, anything can happen. Our main objective is to plan properly and to hope that our plans can be executed."
Los Perfectos will look to their ever-reliable attacking force Venicia Reid, who leads the team's goalscoring efforts with 21 goals this season.
She will be supported by senior Reggae Girl Sashana Campbell and under-20 Reggae Girlz representative Andrene Smith.
Duncan believes his team is a lot better than their points tally in the regular season would have shown.
He explained that a lot of the team's preparation during the season was hampered, which led to his players losing games he believes they should have won.
"It has been a rough season because we had challenges in terms of training preparation throughout the season. We have mostly schoolgirls and for the ones who work, it was challenging for them to leave work or get the time off to train," he said.
NOT THE BEST FORM
These issues seem to still persist as Los Perfectos will enter the semi-finals off a 1-1 draw with bottom-of-the-table Springers United over the weekend.
In comparison, their upcoming opponents Frazsiers Whip had routed Mile Gully 11-0 in their final regular season game, and look confident of a title defence.
The first leg of the semi-finals will be played on July 26 with the second leg set for August 2. Both games will be played at the Constant Spring Sports Complex.