Speid believes in ‘inexperienced’ Cavalier

Cavalier coach Rudolph Speid believes the inconsistency in his team’s performance this season has been a result of the inexperience within their ranks.

Speid noted that the average age of the team has dropped drastically this season, with experience campaigners like Alex Marshall, Nicholas Hamilton, and Kaheem Parris moving overseas, along with seasoned Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) players like Paul Wilson, Ajuma Johnson, and Leonard Rankine, who have joined other local clubs.

As a result, youngsters like Shaneil Thomas (18), Dwayne Atkinson (17), Ronaldo Webster (19), Nichashae Murray (19), Kyle Ming (21), Dwayne Allen (18), Gadail Irving (21), Raheen Depass (22), Orlando Brown (22), and Ajai Chin (20), have been thrown into the mix and have kept last season’s semi-finalists within touching distance of the top six despite their fluctuating performances.

Although Speid admits that getting into the top six will be very difficult for them, he thinks that if his young troops continue to improve the way they have been doing, they will be in the top half of the table when the Third Round comes to a close in six games.

“This is really a young team, and we are getting younger and younger as we play, so it’s a learning process. But we are satisfied that we get to keep in touch with the people ahead of us, so we didn’t lose anything,” Speid said.

Cavalier defeated UWI 3-0 in the RSPL game at UWI Bowl on Sunday to stay in eighth place with 36 points, two adrift of sixth-place Arnett Gardens, and Speid says they are still very much in the race for the top six.

However, he believes their next game against Arnett Gardens on Monday will be crucial to their playoff hopes.

“We did do ourselves a favour by winning (Sunday). If we didn’t win, it would get harder (to qualify for play-offs). It’s good we won. Dunbeholden (39) and Tivoli (37) won, but we still have some games outstanding, and it could be possible that we are targeting the wrong teams as it could be teams higher up that we are going to catch in the long run.

“So the (UWI) win was good from the point of view we stayed in touch, but it’s still a difficult task to make the playoffs. However, the way the table is set up, we have a good chance to get there,” he reasoned.

Speid will now look to his experienced players like captain Chevonne Marsh, Damoy Simpson, Jamar Purcell, and Brian English to pilot the youngsters through to their fourth straight playoffs qualification.

“I am very pleased, and I have to be pleased because the team is getting younger and younger, so from that point of view, I have to be satisfied. I just hope they can improve enough to get us into the playoff and then we see what happens,” he said.