Cavalier ready for title challenge – Speid

Three weeks ago Cavalier were a team in seventh place, facing real questions about their play-off future.

Now they are in the Jamaica Premier League semi-finals, a fact that got a rare smile out of head coach Rudolph Speid.

With a play-off place already secured before a ball was kicked, Cavalier secured a first-round bye through their 1-0 victory over Vere United in their regular-season finale yesterday at the UWI-JFF-Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence.

Kyle Ming got the all-important goal in the 84th minute as they vaulted into second place with 18 points and a superior +7 goal difference, displacing Mount Pleasant, who also finished with 18 points but had a +3 goal difference.

Speid’s reason for smiling was the fact that they managed to improve on converting chances, as well as controlling games effectively, as they now seek their first title in nearly three decades.

“If you go back on our record we are always leading teams and they caught up with us near the end. What we did was we worked on our finishing because we always are going to score on you and then we worked on being able to keep teams off the scoresheet,” Speid said.

His team was relentless in creating chances, especially in the second half where they did everything but score. Dwayne Atkinson had a curling effort deflected and a header over the bar with other chances not hitting their mark. Ming’s finish late on was not only validation of the turnaround in the last three weeks, but also a belief that a group cultivated to take the next step in their professional careers is now ready for the pressure to claim a major title

“It’s been a long time. We have only won it once. If we are going to pretend that we are a big team and we are here to stay, then yes we need to win the title game. Right now we are three games away from the title and I think we are going to prepare for those three and come back hard,” Speid said.

Vere United, who were already through to the play-offs, were not playing at full strength according to head coach Donovan Duckie, with four starters out through injury.

SOMETHING TO BE CELEBRATED

However, he says despite the result, Vere’s qualification into the post-season is something to be celebrated and they are more than ready to accept the challenge that now awaits them.

“There is a lot of positives that we can take from this game. We are happy to play again and we are enjoying our season and we are in it to win it,” Duckie said.

Cavalier capitalised on Tivoli Gardens’ failed attempt to get that automatic semi-final spot as they played to a 1-1 draw with Molynes United in the early game in the afternoon.

Molynes United, who were already eliminated from post-season contention, took the lead in the 77th minute thanks to Tyrique Wilson before Stephen Barnett equalised four minutes later. Tivoli Gardens’ assistant coach Dwayne Blake says that they need to improve on their execution if they are to be a threat in the post-season.

“We knew that it wasn’t going to be an easy game. We just let it slip out of our own hands. It’s the same things that have been haunting us from the start of the season, missed chances and decision-making,” Blake said. “I think our decision-making in the final third is something that we have to work on going forward in the play-offs.

It has been a rough sophomore season for Molynes but assistant coach Andre Daley said that patience is required for head coach Anthony Patrick to mould the team into his philosophy for next season.

“For a coach to take over a new team to try and put his stamp on it will take some time. The competition is just really a one round robin,” Daley said. “We didn’t get enough to put our mark on the team. So definitely next season we will come out with a better mindset.”

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com

Tivoli Gardens: Nicholas Clarke, Shavar Campbell, Ranike Anderson, Odean Pennycooke, Trevaune McKain, Tkven Garnett (Dasha Satchwell 90), Rushane Thompson(Davion Garrison 67) , Romaine Bowers (Jermaine Johnson 65), Horatio Morgan (Rodico Wellington 65), Devroy Gray, Anthony Nelson (Stephen Barnett 53)

Molynes United: Leon Taylor, Oneil Small (Rashawn Livingston 77), Ackeem Stewart, Damion, Thomas, Rickardo Phipps, Tyrese Wynter, Marvin Emmanuel, Tyrick Sutherland, Nicholas Nelson, Tyrique Wilson, Orane Ferguson (Jevaughn Brown 76),

Vere United: Kadeem Davis, Tavis Grant, Anjay Gayle, Shamar O Connor( Lamard Neil 61), Kenroy Lumthen, Alton Lewis, Javier Brown, Courton Wright (Ricardo Dennis 69), Romone Plummer, Trevance Salamon, Tyrese Harrison (Gregory Cousins 61)

Cavalier: Ricardo Watson (Jeadine White 59th), Jeovanni Laing, Richard King, Jamoi Topey (Kamoy Simpson 11), Melvin Doxilly, Marlando Maxwell(Jamar Purcell 59), Dwayne Atkinson, Gadial Irving, Kyle Ming, Jerome McLeary (Courtney Allen 59), Shaniel Thomas

RESULTS:

n Tivoli 1-1 Molynes

n Vere 0-1 Cavalier