William Knibb coach proud of defensive record

Western Bureau:

ANOTHER CLEAN sheet from William Knibb Memorial High School helped them down Cornwall College 1-0 in their round of 16 ISSA daCosta Cup Group 2 clash at Drax Hall in St Ann.

Mark Lewis’ 11th-minute strike was all it took to separate the old-time north coast rivals.

The match marked the first time CC were failing to score this season, a fact which made William Knibb’s coach, Dwight Jeremiah, proud.

“When I walked into the ground a lot of Cornwall College fans said we can’t keep a clean sheet because this is our first real test. Coach Neville Bell sent me a text saying ‘at this stage of the tournament with that amount of games you’re playing, you must be doing something special no matter who you’re playing’,” Jeremiah said

“Today (yesterday) we played Cornwall and yes they were sturdy and created chances but these boys put their bodies on the line, literally. I think they are as eager to keep a clean sheet as they are to score a goal. When you get schoolboys to be like that, then you keep them that way,” he added.

It was the third 1-0 win in a row for William Knibb, who have only scored three goals in their last four games after netting 49 goals in eight first-round games. Jeremiah said he doesn’t mind how the wins come.

“For me, I will grind out a 1-0 win to the title every single day. We are trying to build a culture at William Knibb. We don’t have the pedigree of Cornwall College, so we have to win first and then work on philosophies and other stuff. I don’t want to be the best team in the competition, I want to be better than my opponent on the day,” Jeremiah said.

Dr Dean Weatherly coach of CC said they were not at their best from the start, which cost them but noted that they just have to focus on getting a good result in their last game of the round on Friday against Paul Bogle High.

“It was one where we started a bit flat and paid dearly for it because the goal resulted from it. We came into our own but missed a couple of chances that gave William Knibb the licence to come at us,” Weatherly said.

Very good game

“Despite the result, it was a very good game. We just have to look for the next game Friday and see how it turns out,” he added.

The win took William Knibb to six points and clear leaders of the four-team group. CC sit third with three points behind Dinthill Technical High School on goal difference after the St Catherine-based team defeated Paul Bogle High School 2-0 at York Oval in the other group game yesterday.

Paul Bogle is still without a point.

Over in Group 1, defending champions Garvey Maceo High were dealt a 1-0 defeat by Central High and Manchester High defeated Christiana High 2-1.