KTHS aim to correct defensive issues ahead of STATHS clash
Published:Friday | October 27, 2023 | 12:07 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter -
THE round of 16 stage of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup competition is all set to kick off tomorrow, following Wednesday’s postponement because of adverse weather conditions. Among the scheduled matches is a mouthwatering clash between last season's beaten finalists St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) and Kingston Technical High School (KTHS) at Jamaica College. Kick off is set for 1 p.m.
KTHS ended the group stage as one of the best third-place teams, finishing on 21 points behind the pair of Jamaica College (27 points) and Tivoli (22 points) in Group A. Francis Murray, head coach of KTHS, says that while the season hasn’t gone entirely as planned, he’s pleased that his team has progressed to the knockout round.
“The season hasn’t gone entirely the way that we would have expected but I think we did pretty well in coming out of the group. We lost three of our 10 games and, on average, we scored around three goals per game. However, on the flip side, we are giving up too many goals. ” he stated.
KTHS have scored 29 goals while they have conceded 11. According to Murray, it’s the defensive third of the team that he hopes to bolster, especially going into a two-leg affair against STATHS who have scored 48 goals, the second most so far in the Manning Cup, behind Jamaica College’s 52.
“We been conceding too many goals and, in most cases, some soft goals. We’ll try to adjust that problem (defensive) then see where it takes us,” Murray added.
With one day of preparation left prior to their fixture, the KTHS coach revealed that the boys are in high spirits and are not showing any signs of nerves.
“Right now, we are in good spirits, quietly confident and are feeling good about our position," said Murray who added that the postponement gave his staff and players some extra time to attend to injury concerns.
Tomorrow's matches
KTHS vs STATHS (Jamaica College) -1 p.m.
Campion vs KC (Jamaica College) - 3:15 p.m.
Tivoli vs Haile Selassie (St George’s College) - 3 p.m.
Eltham vs Jamaica College (Eltham) - 3 p.m.
St Catherine vs Wolmer’s Boys (St Catherine) - 3 p.m.
Hydel vs Excelsior (Royal Lakes) - 3 p.m.
St Jago vs St George’s College (Spanish Town Prison Oval) - 2:30 p.m.
Jonathan Grant vs Mona (Spanish Town Prison Oval) - 4:30 p.m.