Target practice

For most, a victory by a 26-0 scoreline would be considered a performance that warrants no criticism, but St Catherine High School’s head coach, Anthony Patrick, sees room for improvement.

St Catherine recorded the win over St Mary’s College in Group C of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup at Stadium East yesterday. Mindful of their opponents’ weaknesses, Patrick says he wanted to see better from his side as they will face tougher teams later in the group.

St Catherine came into the game expecting a large margin of victory, especially after St Mary’s 13-0 loss to Wolmer’s in their first game on Saturday. With 2018 champions Kingston College (KC) also in the group, and Mona High School beating Papine High School 10-0 yesterday, Patrick says he is aware that goal difference could be key to who advances. This is why he is concerned about how the team moves the ball as Wolmer’s and KC will provide a tougher challenge.

“The most important thing is the fluency and how we played, and I wasn’t impressed with how we moved the ball today,” Patrick said in the post-game interview.

“We did it in patches, [and] if we were consistent, we would’ve gotten some more. Nevertheless, we got some goals, but I’m still worried about the fluency of the passing.”

But Patrick is considering the possibility that the team did not give its best showing because they did not take their opponents seriously enough.

“That is something I want them to understand - that they have to take every game seriously, and take every team seriously, and you have to play to your true potential,” he said.

Joel Palmer and Nickyle Ellis had six goals each, while Jevin Parkinson had four and Ellis Guscott had three in the game. Patrick is aware that he must now get these players mentally focused on the next game, against Mona.

“I think they understand, though, but we’re gonna have a long talk with them and move on from there,” he said.

TOURNAMENT

Patrick says the outcome of the game is a reminder that the structure of the tournament could be reviewed, with results like these teaching his team very little and demotivating lesser prepared teams like St Mary’s.

“Before the game, I said, ‘This shouldn’t be’,” he said.

“In their first game, they lost 13-0 to Wolmer’s. Every year this keeps happening and, ... I don’t know, I feel it for them. Trust me, they’re youngsters, and I can tell you it must be very very disheartening to them.”

Patrick’s expectations are, however, tempered as he says the plan is to take the team into the top eight of the competition. Then he will assess how they move on from there.

rachid.parchment@gleanerjm.com