Dunbeholden Football Club Assistant Coach Ricardo Smith said his team should just count themselves plain unlucky to not have gone all the way in what is their most successful season in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) to date.

Still, Smith believes his team can look forward with confidence, as they competed manfully and looked a transformed team than the one that laboured shortly after earning promotion in the 2018-19 season.

The St Catherine-based team just missed out on tasting glory in their first top flight final, going down 5-6 in sudden death penalties to Harbour View after battling to a 1-1 stalemate in full and extra time.

“We are disappointed not to win but we have nothing to be ashamed of. It was a great run for a relatively new team. We could have won it in regulation time and so too Harbour View. It was end-to-end, which was good for the spectators and we wanted to come out victorious, but we were just unlucky and it didn’t happen. But congratulations to Harbour View,” Smith told the Jamaica Observer.

Despite overcoming their fair share of obstacles along the way, Smith pointed out that the season had more highs than lows and has taught them much about how to be successful going forward.

Dunbeholden were the next best team behind Waterhouse in the preliminary stage, amassing 44 points through 13 wins and five draws, with only four losses in 22 games.

“It has taught me a lot, mainly that with hard work you can achieve anything because no one expected us to be in the top six, much less being second to Waterhouse, but we jumped our hurdles, we came and we fought hard. We didn’t win it in the end but ours will come,” said Smith.

And, with much positives to take forward, Smith said they will be using the accomplishments from this campaign as a springboard to possibly go one step higher next year.

“It’s a good push for us and a good platform to build on. I think we could get in a few more players to strengthen the squad and I think with the quality that we have and where we reached this season a lot of players will be looking to join our club and we welcome that going forward,” the tactician noted.

Meanwhile, Nickoy Christian, by far one of the most productive midfielders in the league, said the work continues on his part as he awaits what would be a much-deserved national call up.

“It is tough that we didn’t get the result we wanted. I think the guys worked very hard so I have to say hats off to my team. We were the underdogs in the league and we came out, stepped up and delivered for our community,” Christian told the Observer.

“This season has taught us a lot about hard work and dedication and we have come this far and will continue to push. For me, personally, I think I deserve a national call up but I’m here working all the same as I await that opportunity so when it does come I can grab it,“ he said.

— Sherdon Cowan