KINGSTON, Jamaica— Defending ISSA/Manning Cup champions Jamaica College (JC) gave the clearest indication yet that they are intent on retaining their title with a 6-0 mauling of former champions St George’s College (STGC) at the Stadium East Field last Friday.

JC scored four goals in the first half and two in the second as they strolled to victory with consummate ease. But even after such an emphatic win, their head coach Davion Ferguson was not 100 per cent pleased with the efforts of his boys

“I am pleased about the result, but I think the performance is still a little bit edgy. We were a little bit indisciplined in certain moments of the game,” he said.

Ferguson believes his boys got caught up in the game and lost the plot against St George’s.

“I think we got ahead of ourselves in some moments and we turned over the ball too easily. Also, we backed off this George’s team in terms of giving them a little bit too much space. The aim was to press them high and force errors.

“We started out well in the first few minutes, but once we got two or three goals we backed off and I think we allowed them too much space in the game.”

Based on the type of preparation the team had ahead of this campaign, Ferguson needs his boys to be “switched on” throughout the entire first round of the competition.

“I wanted a more complete performance. What we wanted was to really try to use these first-round games as a part of our preseason. Our preseason preparation was not the best.”

And for Ferguson, things are happening exactly according to his expectations as the season progresses.

“We started out very slowly in the competition. I said after the Calabar game that by game three to four we should start to hit our strides and I believe that we are moving in that direction.”

Ferguson is also determined to get the best out of his squad this season regardless of the preseason setbacks.

“We try to approach every game with a level of intensity and with a level of desire. At the end of the day, these youngsters that we have, I think they are very talented and it is for us as management staff to push them as far as possible.”

His captain, Duncan McKenzie, hit three past St George’s and Ferguson says that mentally, the player has improved since the opening game of the season.

“No doubt he has quality. After the first game he played against Calabar he was disappointed with himself and I sat him down and said look, the quality you have does not disappear after one bad performance. So, it was very important that he got the mental aspect of himself right and in the last few games he has been quietly hitting his strides.”

Ferguson has identified their final two games of the first round as must-win games, so Kingston High can expect a white-hot reception when they go to the home of the champions today, for their midday assignment. 

Dwayne Richards