Rusea’s in seventh heaven

Western Bureau:

Eleven-time champions Rusea’s High School dismissed Merlene Ottey High 7-0 in their opening game of the ISSA-daCosta Cup competition at the Collin Miller Sports Complex in Lucea yesterday.

A first-half hat-trick by Shamour Smith set the game up beautifully for Rusea’s. Smith’s second-minute strike grabbed the early lead before he gave his team a two-goal cushion 13 minutes later. He completed his hat-trick in the 36th minute.

The Lucea-based school was gifted a fourth goal before the interval when Merlene Ottey High’s Keano Spence scored an own goal in the 39th minute.

The intensity of the game fell after the break but substitute Jahtae Reid added the fifth goal in the 67th minute before Terome Morgan netted the sixth five minutes later. Dean Jay Brown came off the bench to rub salt into his opponents’ wounds by getting on the scoresheet in the second minute of stoppage time.

Dwayne Ambusley, head coach of Rusea’s, described the result as a confidence booster as they look to show their fans and the public that last year’s disappointment is well behind them now.

“We got four goals in the first half, so we couldn’t ask for much more. We dropped our intensity a bit in the second half but the team scored seven goals in their first match and we have to give thanks for that,” said Ambusley.

“Any football game that a team wins will be a confidence booster. Given that we had such a bad season last year (by not coming out of the zone), we are just taking it one game at a time. We hope to get better with each game,” he added.

Though disappointed with the result, Merlene Ottey High’s coach Xavier Mitchell said they will be working on the areas that led to their demise as they look to lift themselves in the zone.

“We have some talent in the team, so we just have to work on playing together as a team better. We have a lot to work on, so we will go back to the drawing board and see how best we can move forward,” Mitchell said.

“We are coming back into the competition, we are trying just get the boys going. We are looking to put our best foot forward and hope to make a mark in the zone,” he added.

Yesterday’s results

Hopewell 0 Green Island 1

Mt St Joseph 0 Manchester 4