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May Day coach Thompson doesn’t believe in ‘underdog’ tag - Team looking to win battle against fancied Manchester High
September 13, 2024
May Day High will be hoping to win their first match against Manchester High School in the ISSA/WATA daCosta Cup football competition at 3.30 p.m. today at May Day High School in Manchester.
Uel Thompson, coach of May Day High, said that he doesn't consider his team as underdogs for the matchup against their traditional rivals.
"I don't know where they get that phrase from, but I never believe in those things. We are coming out to do our best and put up a fight until the end. The better team will win. There is no situation where I ever considered my team as the underdog," reiterated Thompson, who has been the school's coach for three years.
"When I came to May Day, I got these groups of boys and they came out for trials. I was told some of the boys can play. I had to bring them back to basics, teaching them to control, pass, create space, and move into space. Football is an art, so I had to teach them that," he explained.
According to Thompson, the team has not gotten past the first round since competing in the daCosta Cup, but expectations are high this season.
Preparations, he said, were not perfect, because of Hurricane Beryl forcing them into a late start for the preseason.
"First year, we didn't win a game and last year we won four games. There were times the players would joke out the games, so we are planning to do our best this year. We are coming out to try our best so we can get the players physically fit moving forward," Thompson told STAR Sports.
Donovan Duckie, coach of Manchester High, has an inexperienced team this season but expects to win the away game.
"We want to start the competition with a win and that is what we call the icebreaker for us now. This is our first game and the players are looking forward to that after months of preparation. They are confident about themselves and we are definitely looking forward to the game today, Duckie told STAR Sports.
Manchester are no strangers to moving past the first round. In fact, in seasons 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023, they finished atop their zone. May Day have never beaten Manchester High.
In the quarter-final round last season, Manchester finished third in Group A after losing two of their three games. They lost 4-0 to eventual champions Clarendon College, and 2-0 to Glenmuir High. Their only win came against Christiana High (3-1), which finished at the bottom of the group.
"We have no big expectations for our short-term goal. What is important is we are looking to rebuild. We lost two-thirds of the team last year, so we are going to do our best and concentrate on our short-term and long-term goals. We are building a programme that will create dominance going forward," Duckie explained.
May Day, who will be playing their second match this season, lost against Mt St Joseph Catholic High School 1-0 in their opening match on Tuesday. Manchester's match on opening day was a default win against Cross Keys High, who forfeit three points and a three-goal margin.
Also playing in Zone F today are: Cross Keys High vs Belair High at Cross Keys High and Mt St Joseph Catholic vs deCarteret College at Mt St Joseph Catholic.
