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Speid credits defence for resurgence
February 08, 2024
Cavalier's coach Rudolph Speid believes their defence has been instrumental in their surge to the top of the Jamaica Premier League points standing after they had a somewhat pedestrian start this season.
The former champions are enjoying life atop the standing as they are currently on 37 points, one ahead of defending champions Mount Pleasant Football Academy, with Portmore United on 35, fourth-placed Tivoli Gardens on 34, and Arnett Gardens on 33. Six teams will advance from the preliminary stage of the competition and Waterhouse hold that final spot, some distance back on 23.
Speid argued that while their offence is a force to be reckoned with, having converted 24 goals, their defence has made the difference, with Cavalier conceding nine goals, the least this season.
"We're not so shabby at scoring goals, but I think that one of the main reasons why we're now at the top is because our defence is now the best in the Premier League," Speid stated.
He explained that having lost some offensive artillery to overseas transfers, he was aware of the difficulty of repeating that goalscoring prowess from last season. He noted that to remain competitive, they refocused their efforts on the defensive end, which proved a master stroke.
"We were always one of the better defensive teams in the league, as we're always amongst the top five each season. We know we're good defensively, so this isn't a one-off thing.
"Last season, we lost Ronaldo Webster, Colin Anderson and Dwayne Atkinson, who recently returned. In all of them, we lost about 40 goals. We knew it would be difficult to replicate that number of goals, so we had to do something else, so we decided to be tighter at the back and use that as a springboard," Speid added.
NOT CONCEDED
Cavalier in their last four games have not conceded a goal, with the last time being on January 10 against Humble Lion. According to Speid, after starting the season leaking goals, he had to adjust his defence, which proved successful.
"In the last 10 games, we've only conceded two goals, one of which was an own goal. We were 10th at one stage and were struggling to score goals. As a team, if plan A isn't working, you should go to plan B.
"We started the season conceding a goal per match for the first seven games, so we opted to tighten that up because we weren't scoring as frequently," he added.
Part of Cavalier's resurgence is the return to form of shot-stopper Jaedine White. Speid believes with both White and Vino Barclett in top form it augurs well for them.
"It's good that both goalkeepers are in form, as they will give each other competition, and that is what we want. It's a team effort at the back, and the confidence between the 'keepers and defence has skyrocketed," Speid opined.
