Both finalists exude confidence ahead of Saturday’s game

BOTH finalists, namely Lodge Secondary and defending champions St George’s Secondary School, yesterday afternoon exuded confidence ahead of Saturday’s final in this year’s Milo-sponsored, Petra Organisation-organised Under-20 Schools football championships.
The action will kick off at 16:00hrs with the third-place playoff between Dolphin Secondary and Christ Church Secondary, before the two finalists, who have whetted the appetites of football fans in Georgetown over the years, following their battle in the Digicel nationwide Inter-secondary School tournament, take the field at 18:00hrs.
Lodge earned the right to face St George’s, when they defeated a hapless Dolphin lineup 3-1, while St George’s were way too good for Christ Church, whom they thrashed 3-0.
At the Lodge playfield yesterday afternoon, the school’s coach Leon Bishop, who guided them to the top podium spot in the Georgetown zone of the 2012 Digicel Schools tournament said he is looking to trump the defending champions, but stopped short in disclosing his game plan.
“While I would not disclose my team’s plan for Saturday’s game, I will say that our strategy is to basically shut down their midfield, as we know it is very strong for them.
“We have some very good players in our midfield and we will be looking to match them stride for stride and mark them out and once we have achieved that, we would be able to shut down the team,” said Bishop, whose players are brimming with confidence immediately after their semifinal triumph.
He added, “The guys are over the moon. This is not just about going to the final alone, but playing against St George’s and I think it would be kind of a grudge match for them, as they feel they are the best team in Georgetown, football-wise, and coming up against the defending champions would be the ideal time for them to prove themselves.
“As for me, they have given me some good and bad times, but I know their potential and I know that once they play to their full potential, we will be successful as I know it is a good bunch of guys I am working with, who are eager to bring the trophy back to our beautiful school.”
Even Lodge liberal midfielder Jarred Grannum said he is very confident ahead of the contest, citing as the main reason, the hard work being put in by the team which has players who are not only talented, but ply their trade for clubs in Georgetown.
On the same note, St George’s coach Winston Maynard took time out before his team’s practice session on the rugby field of the National Park, to first thank the organisers for giving the students not only at St George’s, but other schools in Georgetown the golden opportunity to showcase their talent. He said his team, though behind schedule for the week, were still confident.
“Based on what he had earmarked to achieve this week prior to the game, we are behind schedule in achieving that. However, these boys are highly talented and very skilled and I know that by now and Saturday we would put in the extra effort and achieve our goals.
“We are very confident that we will be victorious on Saturday. Yes, there are natural signs of nervousness within the team, based on the fact that we are the defending champions, but they do have the adrenalin that they need to play, because it is a big match,” said Maynard.
He added, “I think all the boys are ready and yes, we are confident. We have faced this situation before and the players are comfortable within themselves and each one of them knows his individual talent, something several persons can attest to, the fact that our boys know the game and we know how to conduct ourselves.
“Based on feedbacks we have been getting, which is not much, we have a very good plan in place to counteract whatever threat they may bring to us. We are not overconfident, but we are confident and taking this game very seriously.”
Certainly and judging from the words of both Bishop and Maynard, Saturday night’s game which will be contested under floodlights, will certainly be a humdinger and at the same time the ideal game to bring the curtain down on another successfully organised Petra Organisation tournament.

(By Calvin Roberts)