Gilbert still sees room for improvement despite big win
Published:Tuesday | March 7, 2023 | 1:12 AM
It may have been another commanding performance results-wise from defending champions Excelsior High. However, head coach Xavier Gilbert still believes that his team has another gear or two to find to the standard they are capable of as they continue their title defence.
Excelsior won their fourth straight game defeating Immaculate Conception High 16-1 in their Group A encounter of the ISSA/Tip Friendly Schoolgirl Football Competition at the Constant Spring ground yesterday, thanks to an eight-goal performance from Shaniel Buckley, four goals from Cassandra Smith and contributions from Destiny Powell, Jada-Lee Bryan, Akelia Johnson and Kiona Tuloach. Immaculate’s lone goal came from Jessica Smith who had made it 1-1 in the 12th minute.
But beyond the 12th minute, Excelsior showed their class as they put the game beyond Immaculate’s reach in the first half and then piled on the punishment in the second. Despite the dominating scoreline, Gilbert felt that they were still lacking in some areas which would have made them more dangerous.
“It wasn’t our best performance. It is not the strongest opponent. They were aggressive but I don’t think we were patient enough. I don’t think we spread the ball enough. We had good individual skill and pace, which pushed them back a bit. But there is still some work that we have to do. We have played much better than this and we can do much better. But scoring so many goals sometimes it can (get lost),” Gilbert told The Gleaner.
Excelsior have had to manage the fatigue of some players with Jamaica Women’s Professional League duties as well as some participating in national under-20 camp for the upcoming Under-20 Concacaf Women’s Championship which is scheduled to take place next month. For Gilbert, it is not just to make sure that they perform well but embrace the fundamentals which he says will go a far way not only for improvement in the tournament but for their own technical growth.
“I would like us to move the ball a little better. Do the right things, be positive of course but in the same breath ensure that we do the right things because a lot of them play at a different level so I want them to learn the right things,” Gilbert said. “That is also very important in terms of their development.”
The reprieve that Immaculate thought they had when they equalised in the 12th minute evaporated as quickly as it came as head coach Garfield Bailey said that they made it too easy for the defending champions in the second half.
“We kind of lost the plot in the second half. The first half was six to one. We lost the plot in terms of keeping close to Excelsior. We gave them too much time with the ball and once you give them too much time with the ball, they are going to be dangerous,” Bailey said. “Coming up against a tough Excelsior team we knew we were in for a dogfight.”
Excelsior remain at the top of Group A with 12 points and have now scored 81 goals this season.