Waramadong Secondary coach Louie Thomas says that preparations for the finals of the Digicel national u-18 football tourney are progressing smoothly and that he is confident his charges will reverse their fortunes against two-time defending titleholders Christianburg/Wismar Secondary.
Speaking via telephone, Thomas said “We have seen Christianburg/Wismar play for the last three years and we have observed their strengths and weakness and we will get past them in the final”.
He further said “At the moment, we are training at Beterverwagting (BV) ground. We are working very hard and hoping to make a big impression this year. We just don’t want history to repeat itself, we have a new team and whatever happen in the past is past”.
According to Thomas “We lost three years in a row, but this is a new team and we are working hard to make it different this year. My team have good team spirit and because we are in the final, we are working very hard to make it on top”.
Questioned about the areas he believes his side can exploit going into the finale, Thomas said “They have a good defence but we have a good attack. We have to try more shots at their keeper to see how good he is. For the past years they didn’t have good keepers but they had good defences”.
Asked if the lack of height within his side may play a pivotal role in the outcome of the match, Thomas said “I don’t think size matters in football. Most of the guys that make it at the grand stage are little guys like Messi and Neymar”.
“We don’t feel any pressure because of the size and they are not as big as before. It’s not about size but the skills and the confidence going into the game”, added Thomas.
He further added “We are aiming to win the game within the 90 minutes. We are not catering for penalties, we have no room for that. We also have a lot of supporters coming and that always make the difference. Eleven will play on the field and the 12th man will be the supporters”.
Waramadong Secondary will face off with national champs Christianburg/Wismar Secondary in the finale for the third consecutive time on Sunday August 3rd 2014 at the National Stadium, Providence from 18:00hrs. In last year’s finale, Christianburg/Wismar prevailed on sudden death kicks after normal time ended 3-3.
