Cavalier’s winless run leaves them on brink

Cavalier head coach Rudolph Speid has conceded that his team is effectively out of the Concacaf Caribbean Cup and will now turn their attention towards finding their attacking rhythm ahead of the Jamaica Premier League (JPL).

Cavalier suffered another frustrating night in front of goal in the Caribbean Cup, falling 2-0 to fellow Jamaican club Portmore United on Thursday.

The result means Cavalier are without a win in three games and are yet to score a goal in the competition.

They sit fourth in table on two points and with one group game remaining, Speid admitted that Cavalier’s hopes of advancing are hanging by a thread.

“I think we’re out,” Speid said. “Too many things have to go our way for us in the competition. We have one more match to win, so we’ll just play to make sure that we give it everything at the competition.”

The lack of goals has been the defining feature of Cavalier’s Caribbean Cup campaign, but Speid believes the problem is not a lack of opportunities.

Cavalier recorded 22 shots across their three games, with 11 on target, but are yet to find the back of the net.

Speid pointed to Portmore’s disciplined defending, particularly against Cavalier’s repeated attempts to deliver the ball into the penalty area.

“We had a lot of crosses in the box and they defended every single one,” he said.

“I thought that the players got stuck in. So that’s how we had a fast and defensive performance. We have to give them credit.”

But, despite his praises for Portmore’s defence, he believes his players must become more composed when chances arrive.

“I just thought that we weren’t calm enough on the goals, but this is something we still have to work on.”

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That work will now take on added importance ahead of the JPL season, where Cavalier will again be expected to compete for major honours.

Speid, however, is wary of drawing too many conclusions from their Caribbean Cup struggles, insisting that the regional competition and the domestic league present very different challenges.

He is confident his players can find their shooting boots when they return to the domestic league.

“It’s two different competitions. In the JPL, teams are at different levels and in the Caribbean Cup, it’s the same level.”

“Maybe we’ll be able to get some rhythm in the JPL different from the Caribbean Cup where every single match is like a knockout. So it’s two different competitions and we’ll play differently based on the situation.”

Cavalier will close out their Caribbean Cup campaign against Mount Pleasant Football Academy on September 19.

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com