Atkinson will play big role at Cavalier – Scarlett
Published:Thursday | July 1, 2021 | 12:09 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
Assistant Coach of Cavalier SC, Everdeen Scarlett, believes that Kingston College alum Dwayne Atkinson’ will play a pivotal role in their team’s Jamaica Premier League aspirations this season with a shot at the title listed high among their targets for this campaign.
Atkinson, 19, came off the bench in the 77th minute and scored his first goal of the season to mark his side’s opening day 2-0 win against Humble Lion at the UWI-JFF-Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence on Saturday.
He unleashed a curling shot that found the top corner of the net past the outstretched arms of Humble Lion goalkeeper Dennis Taylor before setting up the second for Courtney Allen two minutes into stoppage time as Cavalier ended their four-match winless run against the Clarendon-based Humble Lion.
Scarlett says that Atkinson has already set himself a target of reaching double figures this year in his second season at the professional level.
“He’s a great kid, and he is energetic, lively, and he is raring to go. He and I had conversations, and he said he wants to finish this season with 15 goals,” Scarlett told The Gleaner. “He came on (Saturday) and he scored, so he has plans.”
PANDEMIC PROBLEMS
Atkinson hopes that those plans will come to fruition during this truncated season, having seen his development stall over the past year because of the absence of local football. During his debut year in the 2019-20 season, he scored three goals in 11 appearances for Cavalier before COVID-19 put a pause to his campaign. The long wait to return to competitive football was further compounded by the cancellation of the 2020 schoolboy football season because of the pandemic.
Scarlett says that the goal was the exact response that he hoped to see from Atkinson coming from the bench. However, he expects the youngster to form an integral part of their efforts this season.
The coach added that the team is committed to taking advantage of every opportunity they have to play this year and is eager to make a late-season push in the campaign.
“We have been putting in some work in training, and we decided that whether it be a short or long season, we are going to compete, and we are here to compete,” Scarlett said.