St Catherine aware of STATHS' offensive threat

AS the 2023 ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup season shifts to the quarterfinal stage of the competition, four interesting clashes will take centre stage today.

Among the matches is a clash between two-time Walker Cup champions (2019, 2021) St Catherine High School and last season’s beaten Manning finalists St Andrew Technical (STATHS) with match time set for 4:30 p.m. at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.

Anthony Patrick, head coach of St Catherine, in his pre-match interview, shared that he’s pleased with how his team has gone about their season and is confident that his boys can put together some strong performances during this round.

“I must say that I’m very pleased so far as we’ve started well from preseason. However, the players lost their way a little in a couple of the games and now we’re again looking up after our last victory heading into the quarterfinal round,” he stated.

The St Catherine team managed to book their place in the quarterfinals following a 5-1 aggregate victory over Wolmer’s Boys while St Andrew Technical easily brushed aside Kingston Technical 11-0 on aggregate. Coach Patrick added that based on what he saw from the team in their round of 16 tie against Wolmer’s Boys the team is in a very good place mentally.

“The mindset from the clash with Wolmer’s is also very pleasing and I couldn’t ask for anything more. If we approach this game in the same way that we did against Wolmer’s, then that should bring a lot of confidence,” Patrick stated.

The Phillip Williams-coached STATHS have been one of the highest scoring teams in this year’s Manning Cup competition and according to Patrick, he’s aware of the offensive weapons that South St Andrew-based school possess but he has full confidence in his team and their chances today.

“They will pose some threat and we know that. They have a quality team and a very good coach, so we know that it’s not going to be easy but we’re up for it as the guys are in good stead,” Patrick explained.

The St Catherine coach added that he has been working on his team's defence and they will look to nullify the STATHS attack.

“We conceded a goal in the last leg of the Wolmer’s tie and I wasn’t pleased with how we conceded that goal. So definitely we have to tighten up in defence but I was happy that we got five goals. The STATHS attack is a very good one, so we have to tighten up at the back,” he concluded.

Today’s fixtures:

St George’s College vs Tivoli (Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex) 2:30 p.m.

STATHS vs St Catherine (Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex) 4:30 p.m.

Mona vs Kingston College (Jamaica College) 2:30 p.m.

Jamaica College vs Hydel (Jamaica College) 4:30 p.m.