3 months ago
18
After ‘feeling out’ Portmore United in the first leg of their Jamaica Premier League (JPL) quarter-final at Stadium East on Friday, Cavalier coach Rudolph Speid believes they have seen enough of their opponents to take advantage when they meet in the second leg at Sabina Park today at 6 p.m.
Cavalier came from behind to draw the first leg 1-1, and were the better team in the second half after Portmore dominated the first stanza.
However, after seeing what his opponent had to offer, Speid said they know what to do.
“Portmore started well (first leg) and we had to contend with it. They used a formation we have never seen them play, 4-4-2, and it took some adjusting.
“They usually play 4-4-3 or 3-4-3, so that was a little problem because we didn’t set up for that. But we were able to adjust and compete on an even keel.
“But we have seen what they have to offer. It is a lot, so we have to assess what it is and see how we can counter that. Now we have seen them with three different formations. We will look at them and come back.”
Speid admitted that they struggled to handle the St Catherine team for much of the first half, and despite his confidence that they will move on to the last four, he said they still can’t take their opponents lightly.
“They played really well in the first half (first leg), especially the first 25 minutes. Their movements were very good. They put a lot of pressure on our backline,” he said.
“We weren’t picking up their movements. They were swift, but after a while they started to tire. In the second half we took control, got some good looks but, unfortunately, none went in.
“But it’s one of those ‘feeling out’ processes. Looking at what they had, what we had. And we have some things to work with, but we can’t take anything for granted. We will have to work for it,” he said.
Although pleased with his team’s first-leg performance, Portmore coach Rodolph Austin was disappointed at giving up the equaliser. Nevertheless, he said they continued to create chances and that it is for them to take the chances when they come today.
“That (scoring goals) have been our downfall this season. We don’t score many, but at least we are creating the chances. So let’s hope we can score them when it really matters,” he said.
He added also that he and his team understands the enormity of the task today and are ready for the challenge.
“The game is not over. We are playing a very good team, the best in the Caribbean, we just have to respect what they can do and just evaluate,” he stated.
In the other second-leg quarter-final, Montego Bay United will take a 2-1 lead into their game against Tivoli Gardens at 9 p.m.
English (US) ·