Lions roaring with attitude
Published: Tuesday | December 1, 2009
Sporting Central Academy and Humble Lions shared the honours in a keenly fought parish derby that ended goalless at the Effortville Sports Centre on Sunday.
Not even the curious onlooker could tell that they were parish mates judging by the way they fought for possession, and each measure of fleeting attacking ascendancy.
The point won did not alter their place in the bottom four, but both coaches saw an attitude that could well inspire the way the two prepare for equally tough rescheduled encounters tomorrow against two of the leading teams - Harbour View and defending champions Tivoli Gardens.
The match was a turnaround for the homeside who were schooled 3-0 the last time the two met at Sporting's home at Brancourt, in September.
Their coach, Christopher Bender, was quick to highlight the difference this time around.
"Attitude, just one word, 'attitude'," said Bender, who has admitted seeing a remarkable sense of urgency and maturity since the start of the round, which has yielded five points in three games.
According to Bender, the last time, the team felt they could simply tout ambition and earn points.
"In the first match, they felt they won the game before it was played," noted Bender. "I don't know if it was because the two were used to each other from the Confed days."
Humble Lions' approach seemed to have thrown off the brand of slick passing and attacking belligerence associated with the youthful Sporting aggregation, a factor coach Donavon Duckie highlighted in his post-match comments.
"Definitely (it threw us off). We knew it would be physical and the surface did not suit us," Duckie explained.
"It was a bruising game for us but I see where they are learning to cope with playing on surfaces that are different to the one at Brancourt."
The injection of key players made a difference. Cleon Barrett made refreshing runs in attack for Sporting until he was substitued prematurely with Onike Ford, who lacked the same impact he had in a similar role against Arnett Gardens.
Standings
Digicel Premier League standings after matches played on Sunday.
| Teams | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| St Georges | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 29 |
| H View | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 28 |
| Tivoli | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 24 | 12 | 12 | 27 |
| Boys' Town | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 23 |
| W'house | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 23 |
| Portmore | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 11 | -1 | 20 |
| Arnett | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 18 | -2 | 18 |
| Rivoli | 15 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 17 | 18 | -1 | 16 |
| Sporting | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 15 |
| Village | 15 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 18 | -8 | 13 |
| H Lions | 14 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 17 | -6 | 12 |
| Aug Twn | 15 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 24 | -15 | 10
Site comments powered by Disqus
The opinions on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. The Gleaner reserves the right not to publish comments that may be deemed libelous, derogatory or indecent.
To respond to The Gleaner please use the feedback form.
|
