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'Dino will save us' - MBU's Ambusley welcomes Williams as relegation threatens

Published:Friday | January 11, 2019 | 12:00 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
Dino Williams (left), of Montego Bay United, getting the better of Ricardo Dennis (right), of Boys Town, during a tussle for the ball in a Red Stripe Premier League football match at the Barbican Field on Sunday, January 28, 2018.

With relegation looming large over former champions Montego Bay United, captain and assistant coach Dwayne Ambusley believes the return of injury-prone striker Dino Williams is the answer to their troubles this season.

Williams, the team's leading scorer over the last five seasons, has barely featured this term because of injury. Although the 28-year-old has received some minutes in a couple of games this campaign, he is still far from full fitness. However, Ambusley is pleased to have the striker back and says he is willing to lose with the proven goalscorer, while calling for greater contribution from the entire squad.

"I am always happy going into a game with a fit or unfit Dino. I would rather lose with an unfit Dino than some other players, because Dino will get you goals. If you can get him the chances, he can get the goals, and that is always good for any team knowing they have someone who can score goals," Ambusley told The Gleaner.

"But (Johann) Weatherly, (Deshane) Beckford, and others will have to help with the goals. It will be a team effort.

Dino will not start the next game, but he will get more minutes per game. So for the third round, Dino should play about 60 minutes and by the middle of the round, he should be able to complete 90 minutes," he said.

The threat of relegation has haunted the western Jamaica club all season. They have a mere three wins from 20 matches, which included 10 defeats and seven draws. However, they have lost their last five games, have not won in seven and have just one win in their last 16 outings.

Ambusley admitted that things are not looking pretty for them, but sought to give the assurance that his team would continue to fight for their survival.

"One of the big names will go down this year. We are hoping it is not us. We have to get 20-odd points for the third round, and if we get that, we'll be in the top six. That is far-fetched at the moment, but we are not ruling out anything. We want to get back the confidence we are lacking, and we have to get it back soon.

"We have another chance to reverse all that. So we have to set up ourselves nicely in the third round by winning the first game and then think about winning the round. If we can win the round, our safety will be guaranteed," he said before pointing to his team's confidence in avoiding relegation.

He added: "We are confident, as I can't see us being one of the two worse teams in the league. Based on what we have now. Yes, we are playing like the worst team, but we can't see it over 33 games. So we have narrowed down the situation to 12 games and if we can get 20 plus points in that round, we can reach 40 points. That can carry you through, but it's going to be difficult."