Xavier Gilbert, Excelsior High’s head coach, says his team’s dominance in the ISSA/TIP Friendly Society High School Girls Football Competition is due to consistent hard work and the strategic approach to both play and recruitment.

Excelsior won their eighth straight title yesterday, defeating Holmwood Technical 9-1 in the grand finale at Stadium East.

National representative Destiny Powell led the way for the defending champions with four goals. She scored in the second, 23rd, 69th, and 71st minutes of the 80-minute contest. Jada-Lee Bryan (14th minute), Cassandra Smith (15th minute), Shauntai Pryce (41st minute), Andrene Smith (74th minute), and Ricquanna Richards from the penalty spot in the 76th minute scored the other goals for Excelsior.

However, the biggest celebration of the day occurred when Holmwood’s Jamara Jones scored in the 73rd minute. Jones hit a fantastic free kick into the top of Excelsior’s net from 35 yards out, leaving Shiona Ashman with little chance of a save. Holmwood’s sole goal of the game was also the first goal scored on Excelsior this season.

Gilbert expressed his satisfaction with his team’s performance, highlighting the continuous effort to keep his players engaged in playing football extensively. He said that the positive sentiment is largely attributed to the robust support staff, which played a crucial role in maintaining the team’s dominant performance over the past few seasons.

“I think the performance from the team was good. I am very disappointed as we didn’t manage to keep the clean sheet, but I mean, this was the first and only goal we have conceded this season. Nevertheless, I am happy that we won,” Gilbert told the Jamaica Observer.

“I mean, it is hard work, and they are good players as well. They trained hard, and we continue to work and try to get them playing as much football as possible. I think that’s it. We have a good support staff behind them, and I think that’s what keeps it going and why we have been so dominant over the past couple of seasons.

“A lot of them want to play football, and they want to come to Excelsior. It makes the job a little bit easier for us. When [girls] are selecting their choice of school, Excelsior is among them. We managed to get some talent through that. Of course, we get others through other mediums, and we continue to keep it going,” he added.

Maurice Duncan, Holmwood’s head coach, complimented his team’s improvement over the last year, but expressed disappointment with his ladies’ performance, saying he expected a stronger showing after their 0-8 setback last season.

“The performance was very poor,” he said.

“We have worked on so many things in terms of defence, and it was just not happening for us today [yesterday]. I am proud of the growth in the team as this was our second consecutive final, but I was hoping for a far better performance from the girls this year as this team was better than what we had last year. I don’t know; I am just disappointed,” Duncan said.