3 months ago
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COACH OF the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) champions, Cavalier Football Club, Rudolph Speid, has chalked up winning his second title in a row down to the will to achieve.
“There is always a way, as long as you look hard enough for it, and when people doubt you, it is one of the best ways to come through and prove them wrong,” he said.
On Friday, Cavalier Football Club, defeated JPL favourites Mount Pleasant 6-5 in a sudden-death penalty shootout, at the National Stadium, to become only the fifth club in the history of domestic football to win back-to-back titles.
The final ended 0-0 after regulation and extra-time. But Cavalier were able to hold their nerve in the shootout to retain their crown.
The Caribbean champions now join Santos, who won four straight from 1973-’77; Reno, who won ‘89-‘90 and ‘90-’91; Arnett Gardens, who were champions in 2000-‘01 and 2001-’02; and Portmore United, who repeated 2017-‘18 and 2018-‘19.
Coming into the decider burnt out and struggling with injuries, the odds were highly stacked against the champions, but Speid always believed.
“This is one of the hardest seasons we’ve had. We have played 86 games in one year and 10 months. It was really difficult for us. We lost eight players from the team last season and we had to work overtime to get these players up to standard to be able to win the title again.
“But the players are a family. We are very close with each other. When one player makes a mistake, his teammates hug him and say ‘let’s go again.’ And I think that is what carried us over the line.”
Cavalier’s front three players of Dwayne Atkinson, Shaquile Stein and Jalmaro Calvin, all came into the match carrying knocks, and although all three made it to full time, none of them made it through the first half of extra-time.
Nevertheless, Speid said the important thing was they gave all they got in their time on the field.
GOOD ENOUGH
“We always believe that if a player is good enough to start, he is good enough to play 90 minutes. We tried to get as much as we can out of the best players, and when they couldn’t go no more, we move to a next player.
“But we had players who are able to come on and make a difference when it mattered most, and that was also very important for us.”
Cavalier have now won the Jamaica Premier League on four occasions, three in the last five seasons.
Each title was won by way of penalties, but Speid, in planning for a threepeat, says he hopes to win the next one in regular time.
“That’s how the game goes. The next one we will try to win it in full time. But I think the crowd loves it when it goes to the full length and they get penalties.”
Although the double is another feather in the hat of the master tactician, Speid said he just never wanted to let his fans down.
“I never really thought about it. I can’t see myself letting down my team, the fans and the people that believe in us. So everytime we come up on obstacles, those are the people we use to motivate us.
“I don’t look at it as a personal accolade. I just try not to let down the people that believe in us, which is a lot of people. If you looked in the stands, there were a lot of whites cheering.”
Mount Pleasant controlled the first half and had a couple of chances through Franco Celestine, and one each from Jahshaun Anglin and Kyle Ming before the break.
Shaquile Stein had Cavalier’s best chance from a header midway the half.
Cavalier improved after the interval and Richard King put a great chance wide early on. But Mount Pleasant again had chances through Anglin, Suelae McCalla, Raheem Edwards, Daniel Green, and Nicholas Nelson, who slammed a header off the post with two minutes to go in extra-time.
In the shootout, Cavalier hearts sank to the ground when Christopher Ainsworth skied his kick.
However, captain fantastic Suelae McCalla then did likewise with his effort to bring Cavalier back into the game.
Goalkeeper Vino Barclett then got a hand on Haitian midfielder Clifford Thomas’ kick to give Cavalier the title.
“People were also saying that our defence is poor but what happened? We played five games and conceded only two goals in the playoffs, and that is what Cavalier defence usually looks like.
“But the truth is, they didn’t want penalties. So we knew we won,” Speid added.
Mount Pleasant coach Theodore Whitmore said the defeat was hard to take after seeing his team create and waste as many chances as they did.
“It is a hard pill to swallow. We dominated proceedings from start to finish. But what let us down today, we didn’t put the ball in the back of the net.
“Once it went down to penalty kicks, it was always a gamble. But I am proud of the players and congrats to the Cavalier team.
“But if you play a game and don’t score, anything can possibly happen. And we didn’t put away our chances this evening.
“We were all over the Cavalier team. We kept one of their better players out in Atkinson. So we came up short, and once it’s a penalty shootout, it’s anybody’s game,” he said.
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