Bernard banking on Murray in JPL play-offs
Published:Tuesday | May 9, 2023 | 1:20 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
Harbour View coach Ludlow Bernard is confident striker Colorado Murray can lead their attack in the play-offs of the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) and help them to successive titles.
The leading play-off qualifiers all have very good strikers heading their attacks. Table-toppers Arnett Gardens have the experienced Fabian Reid, who has 15 goals, the same as Mount Pleasant’s Trevante Stewart. Mount Pleasant also have last season’s top scorer Atapharoy Bygrave in their squad and he has been running into form in recent weeks.
Preliminary round runners-up Cavalier have the league’s leading marksman in Collin Anderson, who is on 17.
During Harbour View’s title run last season, the goalscoring duties were shared among Murray, Nicholas Hamilton and Travonne Reid.
But with Hamilton and Reid taking up contracts with clubs overseas, Bernard is convinced that Murray can lead his team’s attack.
“I think he can do it. He can lead the line. He has the quality,” Bernard said.
He noted that the striker was just rounding into form when he picked up an injury against Arnett Gardens a few weeks ago but he says the player will be ready for the play-offs.
“He has four (goals) in his last seven (games), and it is just unfortunate that he sustained an injury. But we just have to fix it. He should be fully ready for the play-offs and I am confident he can do the job for us,” Bernard said.
Harbour View are winless in their last two games after a loss to Arnett Gardens and a draw with Vere. They finished fourth in the standings on 44 points and Bernard feels that they could have taken a top-two slot had Murray been fully fit.
“We did well this round and we could have been one of the two top teams. The big blow for us was losing Colorado so early in the game against Arnett Gardens. We really needed that person inside, as the centre forward to really provide that extra strength for us up top.
“But I am not perturbed about it. I know we will rebound. We have the squad to do it, so we will be up and running again,” he added.
In the 2018-19 season, while playing for Tivoli Gardens, Murray topped the scoring chart with 13 goals. The following season at Waterhouse he netted 12 goals when the season was called off due the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the truncated 2021 season, he scored just one goal from 10 games before moving to Harbour View at the end of the season.
Last season he bagged five goals during the regular season, before adding one more in the final to finish on six goals, the same number he has so far this season.