1 month ago
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EVEN THOUGH the embers of the Jamaica Women’s Premier League’s (JWPL) regular season are still smouldering, head coaches of the top four clubs — Frazsiers Whip, Cavalier, Arnett Gardens, and Los Perfectos — have already turned their attention to the upcoming semi-final round.
Despite the remaining games to be played in the JWPL regular season, the four teams to advance to the semi-finals have already been decided by virtue of unsurmountable point tallies.
Leading the pack are defending champions Frazsiers Whip, who have dominated the regular season with their free-flowing, attacking football.
The St Catherine-based club are unbeaten throughout the season, having won 18 of their 19 games played and recording only a single draw.
Courtney Dowdie, head coach of Frazsiers Whip, is pleased with his team’s performance this season and is ready to fight for their title defence.
“It’s been a good season so far. We have been doing well and we have been unbeaten,” he said. “The mood in the team is good.”
“We’re taking it a game at a time for sure, but it has been one of our goals going into the competition, to defend our title. But in order for us to get to that point, we have to take it one game at a time.”
Dowdie, however, said it will not be as easy for his team this time around, as he has noticed an uptick in quality from their closest rivals.
Using a 1-1 draw against Arnett over the weekend as a marker, where Frazsiers Whip were forced to rescue a point with a goal in the dying minutes of the game, Dowdie is prepared for fierce competition.
“Even though Frazsiers have been winning most of our games, I think the league is a bit more competitive this year,” he said.
“The difference is, we are going out there to play attractive football, but the other teams are stepping up to the plate.”
Following the defending champions into the knockout round will be Cavalier, Arnett and Los Perfectos, sitting second, third, and fourth in the league standings, respectively.
Everdean Scarlett, head coach of Cavalier, is looking forward to a good showing from his players in the semi-finals.
Having seen the success of their male counterparts in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL), Scarlett said the team is ready to add to the club’s growing reputation in Jamaican football.
“There is no difference, we are Cavalier nonetheless. Cavalier is Cavalier,” Scarlett said.
“I think the ladies, I wouldn’t say that they are pressured, but they are extremely motivated and they do want to be crowned champions, like the men’s team, so it is up to them to play.”
Maurice Duncan, the head coach at Los Perfectos, said he will approaching the semi-finals with the aim of recovering from their issue-laden regular season.
Sitting fourth in the standings with 39 points, Duncan feels inconsistent preparation cost his team, leaving them in a position that belies their quality.
“It has been a rough season, because we had challenges in terms of training preparation throughout the season. We have mostly schoolgirls and the ones who work; it was challenging for them to leave work or get the time off from work to train,” he explained.
“The training would have affected us, especially some of the games we lost. We would have lost to teams who were better trained and prepared more physically than us.”
Duncan said while their issues with training have yet to be fixed, the semi-finals bring the opportunity for the team to recover from their topsy-turvy season.
He will count on the team’s cohesion and his game plans to prove the difference in their quest for a hold on the JWPL title.
“It was a journey, but we’re pleased to be in the top four. There’s much more work to do,” he said.
“Most of these girls know each other. They would have played with each other a lot, so it all matters what they do on the day. If these girls turn up on the day, then we can expect anything.
“I am looking for a positive results going into the semi-finals. I will do my best as a coach to put it all together, and hope the plan works out.”
English (US) ·