Excelsior hopes rely on execution — Gilbert
While his team is overwhelmingly favoured to top Group F, Excelsior High’s Head Coach Xavier Gilbert says that how deep they go into the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association/Digicel Manning Cup season is dependent on how they execute.
Though pleased with the manner in which they have started so far, Gilbert is by no means getting carried away as he believes there is still much scope for improvement in his young outfit.
This as Excelsior followed up their come-from-behind 2-2 stalemate with Kingston Technical (KT), with a 6-0 thrashing of Cumberland High at their Mountain View base yesterday.
Six different scorers in Lennon Green (15th), Stephen Bailey (32nd), Nickalia Fuller (42nd), Richard Andrews (45th), and substitutes Dale Fuller (85th) and Dante Bert (90th) got the job done for Gilbert’s side in emphatic fashion.
With the win, Excelsior assumed pole position on four points, same as KT, but with a better goal difference.
“I hope they are ready to now assert themselves,” Gilbert told the Jamaica Observer after the game. “I always knew the first game was going to be hard against a quality Kingston Technical team, but it’s a young team and I’m very happy that they were able to get a point there.”
With what was expected to be their toughest game against KT out the way and the first-game jitters released, Excelsior took Cumberland High to school as the Portmore-based team was completely outclassed.
In fact, Cumberland only had one shot at goal, which went wide of the target after a blunder by Excelsior’s goalkeeper Jadavin Waul.
Green opened the scoring when he arrived at the far post to expertly head home Fuller’s weighted 19th minute corner kick.
Fuller was also involved in the second, orchestrating a tidy build-up before playing a pass in for Bailey, who finished with aplomb.
Fuller, sporting the number 10 jersey, was then rewarded for his consistency as he converted from the penalty spot, after being taken out in the danger area by Dontia Morrison, who was attempting an acrobatic clearance.
Andrews then got in on the act as he capitalised on Cumberland’s poor defending to toe past the advancing Janeli Smith in goal to put Excelsior 4-0 up at the break.
The one-way traffic continued on the resumption when Dale Fuller outpaced defenders and finished over the hapless goalkeeper.
And Bert, who was felled in the danger area, brushed himself off to calmly bury his 12-yard kick to cap the win.
“This was a good performance and I understand why people would think we are favourites,” Gilbert said, “but we still have to go out there and play because we are still trying to build a unit. “But we have some quality, and I think game by game, we will get better and hopefully we can secure maximum points and indeed top the group.”
Yesterday’s results
Group A
Ardenne 0, Kingston College 2
Meadowbrook 0, St George’s
College 7
Waterford 1, Calabar 1
Group C
Charlie Smith 1, Bridgeport 0
Edith Dalton 3, Tivoli High 2
Haile Selassie 2, Vauxhall 1
Group F
Clan Carthy 1, Kingston
Technical 2
Campion 0, Jose Marti 0
Excelsior 6, Cumberland 0