MAY PEN, Clarendon — To many, Geoffrey Maxwell was just in the right place at the right time as Humble Lion recently secured their third successive hold on the Clarendon KO title. However, the nature of their victory suggests otherwise.

It was a performance that complements the counter-attacking brand of football the former national coach brought to the club since replacing Lenworth Hyde and Max Straw on December 4.

And the 3-1 win over fellow Red Stripe Premier League side Sporting Central Academy at Brancourt on Boxing Day was every bit as convincing as the scoreline indicates.

Mark Miller, who is fast becoming a useful utility player at Effortville, grabbed a brace either side of half-time, while Jermaine Christian’s delightful finish in first-half stoppage time accounted for Humble Lion’s goals.

Fit-again Francois Swaby got Sporting’s consolation strike on the stroke of full-time, which was just about all they could muster on home soil, owing largely to the game plan employed by their cross-town rivals.

“Pass and play” was the dominant phrase bellowed by Maxwell from the technical area during his first game in charge of the central Clarendon side, as he pleaded with his players to keep possession of the football. But “don’t chase the ball” was his favoured expression on Boxing Day.

Possession football is, seemingly, what Maxwell wants Humble Lion to play. However, the tactics behind the philosophy is far from the infectious free-flowing game that has proven so successful for Spanish giants Barcelona.

The over-arching concept of ball retention may be the same, but with Maxwell there is a strong emphasis on defending.

Unlike Barcelona, Maxwell employs a 5-3-2 (sometimes 5-4-1) formation, comprising two authentic holding midfielders, which provides a seven-man defensive shield for goalkeeper Garth Herron whenever Humble Lion lose the ball.

It quickly shifts to 3-5-2 (in theory, but 3-2-3-2 in reality), with seven offensive players, as they recover possession and look to build an attack.

So far, Zico Herrera and Ricardo Campbell are shaping up to be the two most important players in the early Maxwell regime. The much-travelled coach has restricted the tough-tackling duo to defensive midfield roles in the purest sense of the word. Their main purpose on the field is to offer added protection to the back five.

They do aid in starting attacks, but not necessarily in the sense that most holding midfielders tend to do. Instead of a direct route to goal with a speculative shot, a dribble upfield or a defence-splitting pass to the strikers, they are instructed to utilise wingbacks Sean Coleman on the right and the pencil-thin Fabian Pascoe on the left.

“Zico,” said Maxwell during his coaching debut against Savannah SC on December 12, “I don’t want you and Campbell to take any more shots for the rest of the game. Pass (the ball) wide.”

Ironically, it was Herrera who pushed forward to head home the winner from Coleman’s in-swinging corner in the 81st minute. But, hoping for a second bite of the cherry minutes later, the former Boys’ Town player was told by Maxwell to hold his position.

They went on to win the game 1-0 and recorded a similar victory four days later over Highgate United. In Maxwell’s third top-flight game, they drew 2-2 at Boys’ Town after twice taking the lead to earn seven points from a possible nine.

Humble Lion, who could improve with the addition of a playmaker and a more prolific centre forward, are now four points clear of the relegation zone and four adrift of a top-six berth.

Three additional victories in the parish KO which culminated in a 3-1 triumph in the final, means they are unbeaten under Maxwell.

Perhaps the ‘new coach bounce’ is still at work, but it’s hard to deny that the changes made by the veteran have made them harder to break down as a unit.

They proved it against lowly Savannah and Highgate, then against a more fluid Sporting attack. However, their biggest test is likely to come against defending champions Portmore United at Effortville today.