Charlie, Selassie look to next stage with hope

Charlie Smith’s coach Eugene Williams and assistant coach of Haile Selassie Ira Hemmings were optimistic about their chances in the next stage of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup after they eliminated Campion College and Excelsior, respectively, in the second round at Stadium East yesterday.

Charlie Smith defeated Campion 2-0 for a 3-1 aggregate victory while Haile Selassie battled to a 1-1 draw with Excelsior to progress to the next stage 2-1 on aggregate.

In the first match of the doubleheader, Daquan Green provided Charlie Smith with a 25th-minute lead, before Christopher Wilson sealed the victory five minutes after halftime.

According to Williams, the objective was to get to the upcoming quarterfinal stage of the tournament and let the players prove their worth to progress beyond.

“My chance in the next stage is as good as any other team. We are here to compete, not here just to participate.

“The game was for us to progress and we did not play as how we should, but we can’t bash the guys as the most important thing was to win to go to the next round,” Williams said.

Campion’s coach Ashton Blankson believes the structure of the competition was a factor in the outcome of the match, with his youthful aggregation being weary at this stage.

QUICK TURNAROUND

“I saw some tired legs and I think the quick turnaround for these boys, having a smaller squad, a younger squad, really showed,” Blankson said.

In the second match, Richard Andrews scored a stunner from the middle of Haile Selassie’s half in the 43rd minute to level the two-leg tie 1-1, but that was nullified by Joshua Dewar in the 47th minute for Haile Selassie.

Hemmings, like Charlie Smith’s Williams, believes they still have a good chance of surprising more fancied teams in the next stage.

“We are putting in the work and we will see where it carries us at the end of the season,” Hemmings said.

He credited the strategy they employed going into the match for the positive result and believes the players followed the instructions well.

“I think these players played to instructions. We never opened up to do much attacking. We allowed Excelsior to play the ball in the defensive third and then we pressed them as they reached towards the half line,” Hemmings said.

Xavier Gilbert, coach of Excelsior, blamed their performance in the first match of the tie for their demise in the competition.

“It is a tough feeling making our exit now, but it is what it is, as we didn’t do enough to advance to the next round and that’s the way the game is sometimes,” Gilbert said.