William Knibb end Cedric Titus jinx

William Knibb Memorial High School edged Cedric Titus High School 1-0 in Group C action of the ISSA/WATA daCosta Cup to break a six-year winless streak in their Trelawny derby yesterday.

Christo-Jay Daley scored the lone goal for William Knibb in the 28th ­minute after a scrappy Cedric Titus defence failed to clear a cross into the box. The goal was Daley’s seventh goal in three games and followed two ­hat-tricks in previous matches.

William Knibb head coach Dwight Jeremiah applauded his defensive unit for holding a slim lead for over an hour.

“It is important for us to learn to win even when we are not playing well,” he said. “In a derby, form is thrown out the window, and who wants it more is what you will get. You will get heart and aggression, so quality may dip, and that’s what we saw today.

“Sometimes people don’t appreciate the defensive side of the game, but we defended well today. Yes, Cedric Titus created a few chances, but they didn’t work our goalkeeper, so 1-0 was a fair result,” he added.

Jeremiah dismissed criticism of his team being too defensive in the ­second half.

“We didn’t come back out to try and defend [the lead],” he said. “I guess with young players, the longer it went and we didn’t score, despite creating chances, they will sit back. It’s natural for players who haven’t beaten this team in six years and leading 1-0.”

Cedric Titus head coach Wade Crawford said that he was disappointed in being the first coach to lose to William Knibb in six years but is confident that they will get revenge in the second leg.

“Any defeat is tough,” he said. “This is a derby, and everyone knows the ­history. We tried to get the boys up for the game, but it’s just one of those days. Only one team could win, and ­unfortunately, this evening, we came out on the losing end because we didn’t take our chance when we got them.

“This is just the first leg, and we are ready to go for the second leg. We know the result won’t be the same for our home leg,” he added.