McGrath hopes magical d’Cup run can lift troubled Linstead
After qualifying for their first-ever ISSA/Wata DaCosta Cup final, head coach at McGrath High Jermaine Thomas says he wanted to help change the fortunes of the Linstead community, which has been affected by crime over the years.
Led by four goals from Shane Pusey, McGrath blew away first-time semi-finalists Ocho Rios 6-1 on Wednesday at the National Stadium.
It was 1-1 after just seven minutes but the St Catherine side took over from that point thanks to Farrel Tucker’s 10th-minute goal and Pusey’s strikes in the 22nd, 48th, 54th and 90th+1.
After winning their first title last season with the Ben Francis Cup, Thomas says he was confident that his team could go one step further.
“We would have retained some of the players and the talent we have, they really dug in and they played well last year. We knew once we retained the players and prepared properly, the rest would be history,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
“It’s awesome, it’s really a big one. It’s a significant achievement, the boys played today to instructions and they were rewarded. I mean, getting six goals in a semi-finals, I wouldn’t exchange the world for that.”
Thomas is hoping this will make a huge difference in Linstead and that its members will be inspired.
“In recent times, our community would have been plagued by violence. We’ve lost a lot of young kids to crime so doing this, I’m hoping it can ignite the community and not only just football wise, that the kids who are growing up now can see and use football as a medium to move forward.”
Pusey joins a rare list of players to score a semi-final hat-trick and he knew it was coming.
“It’s a great feeling, I expected those four goals because the coach believed in me and my team believed in me so I just went out there and did it for them. Big players turn up in big games!”
Despite the loss, Ocho Rios Head Coach Veron Peterkin believes his team deserves high praise for their history-making run to the last four.
“Respect to the boys, even though I’m upset. There’s a lot of things that happened behind the scenes that can be better and if those things were better, the performance wouldn’t be this way,” he said.
“But credit to them, two semi-finals for the first time for all these players whether under-14, under-16 or daCosta Cup, so I have to big them up, can’t too kill them,” Peterkin added.
The final is set for Saturday at the National Stadium.
