Patrick praises ‘experienced’ St Catherine squad

With noted coach Anthony Patrick directing affairs, St Catherine High School has emerged as a quality team in recent schoolboy football seasons. Patrick is confident that the Spanish Town Blues will again emerge from the first round of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup and feels his experienced squad will give a good account of itself.

His team faces Penwood High School at home on Monday to open its 2019 campaign, and Patrick is optimistic. Speaking late in August, he conceded, “we were up and down in the pre-season, but I think we’ll be okay by the beginning of the season”.

St Catherine are in preliminary round Group C with Penwood, Papine High, Oberlin High, Northern Tech, and 1987 winners St Andrew Technical High School. Having seemingly assessed the first set of opponents, he said, “We feel pretty confident of the first round.”

The coach’s cautious but bright outlook is founded on an experienced squad he has in training at the school’s St John’s Road home.

“A little more experience with the youngsters who had their first year last season, you know, with a couple of those who played three seasons now, and some even going four seasons will be leading from the front,” he said.

Known in days past for producing national-level basketballers like Alf Remikie and Eric Stewart, the Saint Catherine High School community is now attuned to football and the Manning Cup.

“Definitely, the school is 100 per cent behind the team, the alumni, this season,” Patrick affirmed. “I really feel comfortable in this regard.”

His team has played its way out of the round-robin preliminary stage in consecutive seasons. Midfielder Ian Cuppee has been appointed to lead St Catherine to even greater heights this season.

“He is in his second year at the school, but he has some fourth-year players there who will be assisting him a whole lot,” Patrick noted.

“He played in the under-20 and division one at Racing and he has some experience there, and he was at Bridgeport a few seasons, so the talent is there,” coach Patrick said of the new captain. “He’s a very good thinker of the game”, he concluded.

Known for his work with young players, Patrick led Bridgeport to the Manning Cup title in 2001. No other St Catherine school has ever lifted the coveted trophy.