Dunbeholden welcome RSPL lessons

Dunbeholden’s head coach, Riegel Smith, said that they have learned a lot from playing in the Red Stripe Premier League for the first time, warning that they will be much stronger come next season.

Dunbeholden, who were promoted to the RSPL last Summer, finished 10th in the 12-team table with 35 points despite their 2-0 defeat to preliminary round table toppers Pormore United in their final game of the season at the Spanish Town Prison Oval yesterday.

Lamar Walker (36th) and substitute Earon Elliot (90th) were the scorers for Portmore United, who were yesterday presented with the $1 million cash prize for topping the points table at the end of the preliminary round of the competition.

MoBay United demoted

Reno (24) and Montego Bay United (30) were both demoted from the RSPL.

Smith said he is delighted that they have managed to survive the rigours of the nation’s top flight and are looking forward to giving a much better account of themselves next season.

“It is an elated feeling to be back in the Premier League next season because this season has taught us a lot, and we learned a lot throughout this season,” said Smith.

“There are certainly a lot of things that are different from playing in the Super League compared to the Premier League, and I am happy that my players were able to experience this season,” he added. “We are one of those teams that got promoted to the league and you never hear we complained about any financial problems, not saying that we are rich, but we have a good structure that we worked with and the managers did a pretty good job with our resources.”

“We had some sponsors that are there with us, and they are still with us, and we give thanks for that because that was one of the driving forces behind us this season,” he said.

Meanwhile, Shavar Thomas coach of Portmore United, said he is happy with his team’s achievements this season. Portmore ended atop the standings with 66 points.

“This is part of our objectives that we have set this season, which is to win the league, and this is one step towards the big picture of us winning the next phase of the competition,” said Thomas.

The top six teams will now turn their attention to the knockout phase of the competition.