Kemal Benjamin stumbled into the goal for William Knibb just before the start of the ISSA/WATA DaCosta Cup season, mainly because of a deficiency in the goalkeeper position in the team.

Tragedy struck the school and the team directly when last season’s starting goalkeeper Kamal Hall was killed just before the start of the school year, devastating the team and the school community and leaving them short of one critical piece of their puzzle.

Recognising the void in the squad, Benjamin volunteered to go in goal as explained by head coach Dewight Jeremiah.

“It’s sad, we lost our goalkeeper from last year Kamal Hall violently and when we went into the season, we only had the reserve goalkeeper from last year, Seron Williams who is only 15 years old and he wasn’t really pushing as much.

“One day in training Kemal Benjamin, who I selected as a future defender said to me, coach I know you are struggling with goalkeeping, what do you think if I give it a shot?”

That conversation has led to Benjamin eventually taking up the starting role in goal for his team and has proved to be a stroke of genius as he produced a string of saves late on against Cornwall College to extend the clean sheet streak.

“Benjamin has improved exponentially. He has been really immense for us…he was tested today (Tuesday) and he came up big. He is focused, his concentration is good, and he is always looking to try and improve, and he is going to be massive for us going forward,” said Jeremiah after their 12th consecutive clean sheet of the season against Cornwall College on Tuesday.

The win has all but guaranteed William Knibb a spot in the quarterfinal round and a point in their final round of 16 game on Friday will do just that.

For Benjamin, being focused against their toughest opponents so far this season, was key to the victory.

“What I tried to do is get my head in the game and remember what my coach said from the beginning of the game, that I must always keep my eyes on the ball, and I did that, and my team came out as victors,” said the soft-spoken custodian.

Jeremiah says that Benjamin, who has eight CXCs including seven one’s, is the brightest boy in the school and that thirst for knowledge has translated to his performances in goal, including Tuesday where his brilliant performance in the closing stages of the game sealed the win for William Knibb.

“According to our coach, keeping a clean sheet all the time will help to play mind games on the opponents, like Cornwall (College). When we scored, they felt like they couldn’t score back because we keep clean sheets and our defensive record is a very good thing because our coach always said, goals win games, defence win titles,” said the tall, gangly goalie.

Benjamin revealed that the players have pledged to win the daCosta Cup for their fallen teammate.

“From the beginning of the season, we said that’s our main goal. We said we want to do it for the late Kamal Hall, who was a friend of mine. I want to win the title for him,” he said with steely determination.

The school community has come out in full support of the team and none other than their most famous alumnus, the legendary Usain Bolt, also made a significant contribution to the programme very recently. This has added more fuel to the William Knibb fire in their quest for glory.

“They have been great; they treat us wonderful. I feel a lot inspired because he (Usain Bolt) told us that he wants us to win and he wants to come to the finals to watch us and we will do it,” he promised.

A 13th clean sheet of the season against Dinthill Technical tomorrow will see them get one step closer to the target as they will qualify for the quarterfinal round with at least a draw.