Known more for his hardnose tackling as a central midfielder and auxiliary defender, Hugh Howell is donning the cap of a head coach for the ISSA/WATA daCosta Cup competition this season and has successfully navigated the first round to advance Vere Technical High school to the quarterfinals.

The second spot from Group F was secured with a second 1-0 win over Old Harbour High on Wednesday with a game to spare in the playoffs from this small group. 

For Howell, making the second round this season was the minimum requirement. 

“Coming into the start of the season I was very confident that we would make it to the next round, but we didn’t want to get complacent.”

Having played and beaten Old Harbour earlier in the season, Howell was fearful of his boys taking them lightly in the second encounter, something which happened at the start of the game. 

“As you saw, we were a little complacent, we let Old Harbour in the game for a period of time which we think we overcame in the second half and advance to the second round, which I am grateful for,” Howell said.

But the Humble Lion FC player is not getting carried away and was honest in the assessment of his team.

“We have a lot of work to do, so it’s just back to the drawing board and work and try to advance from there.

“I have to work on a lot of things, especially in defence. A lot of things can be improved.”

The match winner against Old Harbour was a classic footballer’s goal. A right sided cross from Stephan Witter was met at the back post by a thumping header from Omario Walters, back across goal and into the back of the net, which brought a smile to Howell’s face.

“I am pleased with that. That’s one from the training ground. So, a coach sees that, you are grateful for that,” he beamed. 

Howell is lucky enough to have an extra competitive game to use to prepare for the quarterfinal round as they will entertain already eliminated Foga Road in their final first round game on Saturday.

Dwayne Richards