EMMANUEL Christian Academy (ECA) returned to the top of the hill after a resounding 4-1 victory over Lannaman’s Preparatory in the final of the JISA/Canopy Insurance Alberga Cup National Under-12 football competition, with Head Coach Gregory Jones crediting his team’s dynamism, preparation and resilience for the title success.

The final, which took place at AISK on Saturday, was a repeat of the 2022 finale, with ECA bouncing back from a so-so start to the season to exact revenge on their rivals to lift their first title since 2021.

Jones, said his team was not bothered by their underdog status heading into the final and noted that critical adjustments at the midway point of the season were crucial.

“We never started the season so well, we played in the Junior Cup and we didn’t do well at all and we decided to look at the weaknesses in the team and we worked on that. We knew we had a good crop of players, we just needed to get the right formula,” said Jones.

“But we hit a roadblock in the middle of the season. After that loss against Liberty Academy in the knockout, I thought the hurricane did us well by pushing the league back to January so we got some time during the Christmas holiday to refocus the team. We did a lot of work during the holiday. Fitness went up a couple notches and the team was doing well for the second round, because our fitness was up and we did some tactical adjustments.”

ECA did not concede a a goal in the quarterfinal group stage and semi-finals of the competition while scoring eight of their own in the four games played.

It was a run that boosted the team’s confidence heading into the final.

Jones noted that a surprising change in Lannaman’s approach also helped to form the basis for his strategy in the title decider.

“When I watched the Lannaman’s team play, I realised that one of their strengths was their goalkeeper, but then I saw them in the semi-finals and I realised that the goalkeeper was no longer in the goal, he was being played in another position, so for me, that was great,” Jones reasoned.

“I said to my team and the assistant coach that if we turn up on the day of the final and he is not in the goal, we have a good chance of winning.

“When we turned up, two of my defenders were out, my stopper and my back-up stopper, both of them were out. The back-up stopper plays on the right so two starting players were out and we decided that we had to make some adjustments,” he reasoned. “So I put my son who plays midfield at left back and put someone else at right back and we used the backup goalkeeper, he was now the key to this final victory because he was now required to play stopper.”

“He had never played stopper before in a game, he has done it in training but he took instructions well and his assignment was to mark their centre forward, who was the original goalkeeper — a talented player — but that was our tactical change,” said Jones.

“I also told the team that we are going to be very direct. When they attack, they attack in numbers so if we can counter quickly, then we will catch them offguard. We didn’t want to give them a chance to reorganise defensively so once our goalkeeper got the ball, two seconds, over their head and we start again. That’s what we did and it worked like a charm.”

Jones, who said he made it a point of duty to tell his players to ignore the reputation of their opponents, believes the victory is testament to the development that takes place at the institution.

“I spoke to them the day before and reminded them that the underdogs won the Manning Cup and the daCosta Cup, and even though we were the underdogs going into the final, that meant nothing. Mentally, I think they were ready.”

In the third-place play-off, 2024 champions and this season’s Henriques Cup knockout winners Sts Peter and Paul came from behind to beat Hillel Academy 2-1.

JONES…I spoke to them the day before and reminded them that the underdogs won the Manning Cup and the daCosta Cup, and even though we were the underdogs going into the final, that meant nothing.