KC ready for tough Charlie Smith challenge

An interesting showdown is expected this afternoon when favourites Kingston College (KC) battle Charlie Smith High in their opening match of the 2021 ISSA/Manning Cup quarter-finals at the Stadium East field. Match time is 3 p.m.

In the first game of the day’s double-header, Excelsior High will tackle surprise team Kingston Technical at 1 p.m.

The unbeaten KC will enter today’s contest oozing confidence having registered maximum points in their five preliminary round games.The North Street-based team which is conditioned by veteran coach Ludlow Bernard is hoping to break a three-year title drought and the head coach told The Gleaner he is expecting a very robust encounter from his opponents but he noted that his team is well equipped to deal with whatever challenges they may face today.

“We are expecting some hard running and a physical game from them,” said Bernard. “We are really anticipating a game that is typical of Charlie Smith, so we have to be very strong physically and mentally to deal with them,” he said.

Bernard pointed out that they will not be taking their opponents lightly because this is the quarter-finals and therefore all the teams have refocused and re-energised for this stage.

“Clearly, there must be some amount of confidence within our team, but this is a new round altogether, so we have to reapply ourselves,” he said.

“The teams getting into this round are of a different calibre and have different strategies, so we must make sure that we are ready for it,” Bernard said.

Eugene Williams, the coach of Charlie Smith, said that KC are a very strong team but he is confident that they can come out on top today.

“We have prepared for this well and we have nothing to fear from KC because this is football and so anything can happen on the day,” said Williams.

“We are ready and raring to go because this is the quarter-finals but we know that it is not going to be an easy game because Kingston College are the pre-tournament favourites,” he said.

Today’s games

1 p.m: Excelsior High vs Kingston Technical

3 p.m: Kingston College vs Charlie Smith