3 months ago
15
Technical director of Spanish Town Police FC, Corporal Howard Dyer, said his team is looking to create history, when they take on favourites Falmouth FC in the second leg of their Jamaica Football Championship (Tier II) semifinal at Spanish Town Prison Oval, today starting at 3 p.m.
Falmouth lead the tie 1-0 after last Saturday’s first leg, however, Dyer is confident that they can overturn the result and become the first Police team to play in the nation’s top-flight football competition.
Meadforest and Treasure Beach will play in the other semifinal at Breds Sports Complex at 3 p.m. That game is tied at 0-0 after the first leg.
The two Tier II finalists will gain automatic promotion to the Jamaica Premier League (JPL).
Dyer said his team has been in a positive mood all week, and home advantage has given them an added boost.
“The players are in a joyful mood. It is our home game and they the players had said that as long as Falmouth did not get to them by three clear goals (in first leg), the tie is ours coming into our home game. So the players are in a happy mood, ready for the game.
“This would be the first (if they win on aggregate) that a police team would go to those heights (qualifying for JPL) in football locally,” Dyer said.
Falmouth coach Dr Dean Weatherly is convinced they are the better team, but noted that their opponents are very difficult to play against and will try their best to not allow them to get into their game today.
NO COMFORT ZONE
“We put ourselves under more pressure because 1-0 going to their home cannot be comfortable and there is no comfort zone there. So the first 25-30 minutes of the game will be very crucial because it can make or break our team. We cannot go there and let up. We just have to build on what we have and capitalise on the chances we create.
“We have to prevent Spanish Town from playing their kind of game. They play a very rugged game and try to intimidate you. But our players are equal to the task, and the intimidation factor will not be a factor. We will go there expecting that and play our natural game and we should be successful,” he said.
Weatherly believes the club has paid its dues at this level, after fives years of challenging for a place in the JPL.
“We have one foot in the door. But Saturday it’s who wants it more. We have started motivating our players. We match up quite well with them and we were the best team overall in both zones with the most points and most goals. We cannot let down our guard and we have to defend stoutly and keep them at bay and capitalise on our chances.”
English (US) ·