Reality check for Cavalier
AFTER GOING down to only their second defeat in 16 matches, Cavalier boss Rudolph Speid is hoping that the loss will give his team a reality check and that they will bounce back even stronger.
Third-placed Cavalier went down 1-0 to league leaders Portmore United in a Red Stripe Premier League top-of-the-table clash at the Spanish Town Prison Oval yesterday to slip five points off the lead. But Speid expects his players to use this as motivation going into another tough fixture against second-placed Waterhouse next Monday.
“Sometimes it’s good to lose because you get a reality check, and we just got a reality check, so we are just going to go back and work very hard and come back to face Waterhouse Monday night. We knew it was going to be tough, and we would have preferred not to lose, but we have lost, so we just have to go back and come back harder,” he said.
FIRST REAL BREAK
Cavalier got the first real break early in the contest when they were awarded a penalty, but Nicholas Hamilton’s effort was saved by Shaven-Sean Paul. Moments later, Javon East rose above the Cavalier defence to head home the opening goal on 13 minutes.
Portmore then stifled the Cavalier offence for most of the first half, with only Kaheem Paris getting through, but he could not lift over Paul in goal.
The first period of the second half was ugly, with numerous wayward passes and scrappy play in midfield. Horace Sharpe also hit the post with a header and then headed over early in the half. But Cavalier eventually started to find ways through, and Hamilton, Parris, Ronaldo Webster and Kimani Arbounre all got great chance, for an equaliser. However, none was able to take advantage.
“We are still third, but it means Portmore have got a five-point lead on us,” Speid said. “They are the defending champions, so I didn’t think we were going to have our way with them, but it was encouraging in the latter part of the game as we got a lot of opportunities and could have done better. But Portmore was always going to be close. It was always who took their chances, and we didn’t today,” he said.
Portmore lead the league with 50 points, five ahead of Cavalier and Waterhouse, who were down to play Humble Lion last night.