Waterford say it's their time

Ryon Jones, Gleaner Writer

Waterford haVE for years played second fiddle to their St Catherine neighbours, Bridgeport High, in schoolboy football. They have, however, been making strides, which have now culminated in them advancing to their first-ever Manning Cup final and their coach, Floyd Coke, believes this is their "time".

They will meet Jamaica College (JC) in Saturday's final at the National Stadium in a game set to kick off at 3 p.m.

"It is our time now because we have created such a programme, so followers and lovers would have actually seen us for the last five to six years as one of the most consistent Manning Cup teams and recognise that it would just be a matter of time," Coke affirmed.

"So what we are doing now is just saying to people with this injection in the final is that it is our time now. We waited, we have planned, we have done our hard work, had our hard times and it is our time now," he added.

Despite this being the school's first appearance in the final, Coke is not expecting nervousness to be a factor.

Coke said: "They handled the semi-finals quite well and they have said they are feeling less pressure now. The semi-final was that point, they were remembering 2007 when that team, which should have won, stumbled at the semi-finals. They are not pressured now, but the coaching staff is looking at it, if that pressure sets in on the day how to combat that."

The team suffered a huge loss leading up to the semi-final as one of their players, Okeeffe Lewis, was gunned down. Coke says his former teammates, though having not come to terms with the loss, are trying to channel it into positive energy.

"They haven't come to terms with it, but what they are doing is using it as a tool to propel forward. I don't think a day has passed that his name is not mentioned," Coke divulged.

Will not be easy

Despite having held JC to an away draw before clipping them 1-0 at home in the first round, Waterford are cognisant that it will be no easy task to win come Saturday when a great deal will be at stake.

"They recognise that this is a new game, new circumstances and something precious is at stake this time around, so they are not going to be looking at the previous games," Coke disclosed.

He further conceded that his team's strength lies in their defence, but has confidence in their attacking capabilities.

"Yes, our strength is our defence, but I do believe we have a very balanced attack. We have not scored in only two games all season," he pointed out. "We are not a team to overwhelm anybody with a large number of goals, but we will get the job done."