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Clarendon College fancy chances of winning daCosta Cup

Published:Thursday | September 8, 2022 | 12:09 AMRobert Bailey/Gleaner Writer
Lenworth Hyde (right), head coach, Clarendon College, celebrates their Olivier Shield victory over Kingston College at the National Stadium in 2019.
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Lenworth Hyde (right), head coach, Clarendon College, celebrates their Olivier Shield victory over Kingston College at the National Stadium in 2019.

LENWORTH ‘TEACHER’ Hyde, head coach of many-time daCosta Cup champions Clarendon College (CC), has set his sights on regaining the title in this season’s Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) senior schoolboy football league competition.

Clarendon College, who are the reigning Champions Cup winners, last won the daCosta Cup title in 2019. They were knocked out at the semi-final stage of last year’s competition.

Hyde told The Gleaner that they have assembled a very strong team for this year’s competition, which includes six key players from last season’s squad.

“We have a good chance of winning the daCosta Cup competition this year, but we just have to be consistent and keep the focus,” said Hyde. “We have been training very hard and we are preparing well and the players are looking forward to this season.

“It is going to be a good season for us and we just have to go out there and give it our best every time,” Hyde said.

Among the six key players retained from last season are Marques Reid, Malakia Douglas, Christopher Hull and Akino Jones.

The team has been drawn in zone H, along with defending Ben Francis knockout champions Edwin Allen High, Thompson Town, Kellits and Lennon.

Hyde pointed out that his team is coming off an excellent preseason because they have managed to strengthen their defensive unit, with the acquisition of three new players, and therefore he is confident they are equipped to withstand any pressure they might encounter throughout the season.

“We have three new players in our defence line so that is the area that we are trying to firm up right now. We have a good squad because we have good players coming off the bench, so we just have to stay disciplined and stay focused and play our brand of football,” said the veteran coach.

He added: “Our attacking force is pretty much good and ready to go.”

Commenting on their build-up, Hyde, a former national midfield maestro, said: “We have played some good games in the preseason and so I hope that we can bring that over into the regular season. I am confident and the players are confident also, so we are just raring to go and we would like to get back our title this year,” he said.

In spite of his optimism, Hyde noted that zone H is going to be very competitive and they will not be taking any of the teams lightly.

“It is a tough group that we are in, so we are not going to take anybody for granted. We respect the teams in our zone and so we are looking forward to these matchups this season,” he said.