Omar Wedderburn, coach of the ISSA All Schools (Jamaica) Under-19 football team, has urged players to place a strong emphasis on patience and tactical discipline as they prepare for this evening’s final of the Caribbean Americas Soccer Association (CASA) Youth Classic in Fort Lauderdale.
Winner A Jamaica will face Winner B Rush at the Lauderhill Sports Complex at 8:30 p.m.
The Jamaicans advanced to the championship match after a convincing 2–0 semifinal victory over ESP on Saturday night, powered by a brace from St Catherine High’s Kadean Young.
“It’s how to get them to be settled and we think we need to be patient. We are rushing the game somewhat at times. Whenever we do that, you know, we are okay,” said Wedderburn.
With confidence high following the solid performance, Wedderburn believes maintaining composure and executing their game plan will be key as they aim to capture the tournament title against their opponents.
Meanwhile, Young expressed great satisfaction with the team’s performance, attributing to their success to team communication and positive chemistry developed through recent training.
“We are doing well. We play good together even though we didn’t train for three or four days together. We communicate with each other and just want to get the job done” said Young.
The striker is the leading goal scorer for with four goals in the tournament.
“I am feeling great; words can’t even explain how I am feeling. I want to keep my head up and focus on scoring more goals,” added Young.
In their opening match, Jamaica hammered Cobras 4-0 through goal scorers Young in the eighth and 76th minute to complete his brace.
In the 50th minute, Excelsior High’s Kimarly Scott registered one, followed by St Elizabeth Technical High’s Kaieem Lewis in the 62nd minute.
The CASA tournament began in 2009.
Since then, Jamaica has only lost two times.
– Ashley Anguin
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