Williams pleased with his progress at Portmore United

AFTER missing out on playoff action in his first season as head coach of Portmore United, Phillip Williams, in his second year at the helm, is pleased to have guided the team to this season’s playoffs. Portmore ended the regular season in fourth position after a 2-0 victory over Humble Lion on Sunday.

“This is my second full season, and last year we missed out by a couple of points. We were in the running from game one right up until the last game of the preliminary rounds, so I’m satisfied with the progress, and we being back in the playoffs, which is where we always want to be,” Williams said.

Portmore lost only three regular season games, a joint league best with Mount Pleasant, and coach Williams praised his defenders.

“If you look at the statistics, we lost the same number of games as league leaders Mount Pleasant, so defensively, we know we’re a strong team. In attack, we have also done well because we have been scoring, so it’s about an entire team effort,” he added.

The seven-time winners have conceded a total of 16 goals from their 26 matches played while scoring 37, the joint lowest along with Mount Pleasant among the six teams that have qualified for the playoffs.

“To win any championship, you’ll need a solid defensive unit and then try to back that up on the offensive end, which is what we need to work on the most for the playoffs,” coach Williams said.

The Portmore United team will lock horns with Arnett Gardens in the playoffs, and Williams is aware that the ‘Junglists’ are a formidable force.

“This will be our third time playing them, and we’re aware that they’re a good team. This is my second season, and we’ve shown growth, but in order to gauge the growth, we have to play against the best, so we’re looking to match up well against them. We’ve seen each other twice already, so tactically, we know we have to change some stuff in order to see how best we can outwit them,” the Portmore head coach added.

orane.buchanan@gleanerjm.com