Mitchell adds composure, youthful exuberance

Cavalier United Football Club are a team many see as too young to challenge for the Red Stripe Premier League title but rather an exciting prospect for the future. However, in their two most recent performances, they have shown that they can indeed put in the type of performances required and would be expected of more experienced units to get a result against more favoured opposition.

Heading into the final round of games of the regular season, Cavalier travelled away to defending champions Arnett Gardens, needing to avoid defeat against a team which was looking to secure an automatic semi-final spot, to ensure they qualified for the playoffs and that they did with a disciplined and composed performance.

A team blessed with young, exciting talents, particularly in attack, many believe that the experience and composure required to go all the way is lacking in the Cavalier team, but they showed against Tivoli Gardens on Sunday that the performance against Arnett Gardens was no fluke as they fought hard to grind out a 0-0 scoreline, leaving the tie wide open for both teams in the second leg.

Their new-found defensive solidity is partly due to a change in goalkeepers with David Mitchell holding on to the starting spot for the past three games. With Mitchell in goal, the entire defensive unit looks more composed and cohesive, which has seen them keeping two straight clean sheets against tough opponents.

Mitchell insisted that this was down to how he communicates with those in front of him, which has improved the team's defensive performance.

"Well, since I have been in goal, the defensive unit has been more composed because of the way we communicate. The other two goalkeepers here are good goalkeepers, but the coaches prefer the way I communicate with my defenders" said Mitchell.

KEEPING THE INTENSITY

Mitchell, who expects to be the man between the posts for the rest of Cavalier's season, is confident that his team can get past Tivoli Gardens in the return leg today and that they may even challenge for the title if they keep playing the way they have been of late with the talent they possess.

"It's all about keeping our intensity high to match that of our opponents. Tivoli are a team that play quick and at a high intensity, so we've got to do likewise for the entire game, keeping composed and focused like we did in this game," Mitchell said at the end of their opening leg 0-0 draw on Sunday.