Excelsior eye positive start to defence of schoolgirls’ football title

Defending champions Excelsior High will be looking for a positive start to the season when they take on St Andrew Technical High (STATHS) at 4 p.m. today in their opening game of the ISSA TIP Friendly Society Schoolgirls Football at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.

Head coach Xavier Gilbert said he is expecting his team to walk away with all three points to begin their title defence.

“We just want to start off with a win. That’s the most important thing. I’m also hoping that we won’t concede any goals, but it’s the first game, so it’s going to be a little bit nervous for some of them who are playing for the first time,” Gilbert said, adding that their main objective today is to get the win.

Excelsior are aiming to successfully defend their title, but Gilbert anticipates that his team will face stern opposition during their campaign.

The Mountain View-based high school has been a dominant force in schoolgirl football over the last few years. However, Gilbert believes that with the development in women’s football across the island, the gap between Excelsior and their title rivals has been shrinking.

“I think the gap has narrowed,” he said. “There are some schools who don’t normally dominate that are coming to the fore based on the opportunities that the young players are getting. There are a lot of academies for girls across Jamaica, so we anticipate that the gap is going to be narrowed and some good players coming through the ranks into the high school system.”

Despite this, Gilbert remains confident that Excelsior will retain their title. He will be depending on the individual talent within his squad to prove the difference throughout the season.

Excelsior have produced several young talents that have gone on to represent the Reggae Girlz at both youth and senior levels, and Gilbert said this year would be much of the same.

“I think we’ll have a good showing this season again. We should manage to retain the title, and that’s our objective for the season. We still have some good youngsters that we think will matriculate to the under-17 and under-20 levels, and even at the under-15. They have this platform to showcase their talent, and we just hope that they make the best use of it and make the necessary transition moving forward,” Gilbert said.

Excelsior will face off against STATHS in the second match of a double header at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex. In the opening game, Holmwood Technical will take on Glenmuir High at 2 p.m.