Black River aiming for daCosta second round

AFTER missing out on the second round by two points last season, Black River High are hoping to make amends in this season’s ISSA daCosta Cup football competition. Despite being moved from the zone with other St Elizabeth-based schools into one where they will face a mixture of schools from Manchester in the first round, Head Coach Vayden Hayle is optimistic that, having retained most of his players from last season, the team will be able to give a good account of itself. He described the upcoming season as a continuation of the rebuilding project.

“We have retained most of the squad from last season and we are in a partial rebuild,” he told the Jamaica Observer after a preseason practice game at Cornwall College on Tuesday. Hayle said having most of his players back was a positive. “Last year we finished third in the group and missed out on the second round by two points, and I don’t think we did badly at all on the basis that we were rebuilding,” he said.

Hayle said they would have liked to remain in the zone with the schools they were familiar with, but expected things to be more difficult in their new surroundings. “This season I think it’s going to be tough because we are now in a different zone, but I do expect the players to go out there and give a good account of themselves every game,” he said. “The objective is always to go to the second round, so we’ll be pushing for the top two.” Black River High football coach Vayden Hayle (Photo: Paul A Reid) Black River have been drawn in Zone D in the first round and will go up against Belair High, deCarteret College, Mount St Joseph Catholic, BB Coke, Lacovia High, Lewisville High and Munro College.

As an unranked team, Black River will play in the first round and Hayle thinks that will benefit them by giving the players more games ahead of the second round. “I think it helps because you always want as many fitness games as possible. So when you’re not playing and then you get games, your players are not up to speed and match fit.

So playing in the first round helps to give you momentum,” he said. While he said they had not won any of their preseason games, Hayle pointed out that they were more focused on gaining match fitness and working on areas of their game. I think the psychological side of it is what is killing us,” he said.

“The lack of concentration, decision-makin…