Cavalier still confident – Speid
Published:Wednesday | February 26, 2025 | 12:14 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
CAVALIER’S PERFORMANCES in the second round of the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) have been far from convincing, with the defending champions winning just five of their 13 matches in the round.
Coach Rudolph Speid said the round marked their worst regular season display in recent times, but noted that the hectic schedule of fixtures, coupled with injuries, bad referee decisions, and unusual defensive frailties have impacted them seriously this term.
According to Speid, Cavalier’s defensive issues stem from a change in their style of play this season. Nevertheless, he said they need to get it sorted before their Concacaf Champions Cup round-of-16 match on March 6.
“The fixture. It is really tough and we have had a whole lot of injuries right throughout the season. So we just haven’t had our best players available all the time, and some decisions have gone against us.
“We keep getting these types of decisions week in, week out, and when we are supposed to get some calls, we are not getting them.
“So we know that we are struggling but I put all the blame on my shoulders. I am the problem. So I need to fix it and I am working to fix it. I do not know how quick but we have to work and fix it,” he said.
Last season after 26 games, Cavalier had conceded just 17 goals, compared to the 28 they have leaked in this round. Speid believes Cavalier have the personnel to get it right but said they are still adapting to their new South American approach to playing.
“We are conceding too much goals. We were never a team that conceded as many goals as we have conceded this year.
“We have conceded more than one goal per game, and that is really a big issue for us and we haven’t been able to fix it from the season started.
“We have the personnel to get it right. So we need to get it right. We still managed to score goals and a reasonable amount of goals. So that isn’t the problem.
“It is tactical and that is why I am blaming myself. We are trying to play a little bit different and it will take a while to get it right.
“We try to play a relationism type of game this year, more than the structured European way. So we are trying to play more South American. But we do not get it as yet. We are working on it, and we have to get it right before the Champions Cup. So we have two weeks to get it right. But you learn more when you lose. So we are learning,” he stated.
A number of players have returned from the injury list in the last weeks, including attacking ace Dwayne Atkinson, and Speid is confident they will get back to their best once they have their full complement of players available again.
“This has been one of our more disappointing years in the regular season. So we are learning a lot. But we have had a lot of injuries. We never had a full team or close to our best team for a match. And some of the players have played every single minute. So there’s fatigue. But we will be back.
“We got a player recently and we are trying to look a couple more. So once we have a full roster, we should be able to do much better,” he said.