Charlie’s Williams calls for patience

Buoyed by their semi-final finish last season, Charlie Smith High’s head coach Eugene Williams has preached patience with his evolving group following their 0-0 draw with Haile Selassie High in their 2022 ISSA-Digicel Manning Cup Zone C opener yesterday at the Haile Selassie school field.

While it was a goalless affair it did not lack chances for both teams, with Haile Selassie close on two occasions, especially in the second half to win all three points. After a tight first half, Charlie Smith had to endure pressure from the restart, with Raldo Dwyer getting past Charlie Smith goalkeeper Kyle Cunningham but could not finish from a tight angle.

Charlie Smith weren’t without chances of their own but, despite getting behind the Haile Selassie defence, could not make a difference in the final third.

Williams said that he was not discouraged with the result of the opener despite only getting a point and is optimistic about improving their quality in a bid to get out of their group.

“With the first game, you try and get the jitters out of your stomach. But a point from home is better than none. We could have done much better but it is the first game of the season. I won’t bash them because of the fact that they are young boys,” Williams said. “As the competition progresses, we will improve and get better.”

Charlie Smith advanced to the semi-finals last season by winning their last two games of the quarterfinal round. Williams says that he is encouraged by some of the work that has been put in preseason which was on display.

“We are here to compete. We are not here to just participate. Our chances are as good as any. With more match practice the team will get much fitter and have more togetherness and we will get better results going forward,” Williams said.

Meanwhile, Haile Selassie head coach Linval Dixon said that despite his team’s inability to take advantage of their second-half pressure, he was pleased with the overall play in their first Manning Cup game in more than a year.

“It is a good feeling to get a point in our first game against a tough team in Charlie Smith. We acquitted ourselves well despite everything. We got some chances that we could have capitalised on,” Dixon said. “We were a little bit hasty in finishing. We had some more time on the ball where we could have waited a bit and put the ball on frame. But it is something that we can work on and this will be really good for the boys.”

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com

Yesterday’s Results

Group A

Waterford 3 Meadowbrook 0

Group C

Bridgeport 3 Edith Dalton James 2

Tivoli 4 Vauxhall 0

Group F

Cumberland 1 Jose Marti 0

Today’s games

Group B – 3:30 p.m.

Jamaica College vs St Mary’s College

St Jago vs Cedar Grove

Holy Trinity vs St Catherine

Group D – 3:30 p.m.

Jonathan Grant vs Dunoon Technical

Norman Manley vs St Andrew Technical High

Tarrant High vs Spanish Town High

Group E – 3:30 p.m.

Mona High vs Kingston High

Papine vs Hydel

Wolmer’s Boys vs Camperdown

Group F

Campion College vs Clan Carthy – 1 p.m.

Excelsior vs Kingston Technical – 3 p.m.