Benna Boyz Lack Mental Toughness - Coach

Details

Football

Wednesday, 19 December 2012 02:30

By Vanroy Burnes

Antigua St. John's - The head coach of the Antigua & Barbuda national football team, the Benna Boyz, said he is disappointed with their performance in not reaching the semi-finals of the CFU Caribbean cup and missing a chance to play in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the USA next year.

Speaking to Caribarena, Coach ‘Debu’ Williams said he was very disappointed with the team’s performance, especially in the first match against the Dominican Republic.

The coach said after a relatively good first half, the Benna Boyz switched off in the second half and allowed the other side to gain most of the ball possession and dominate the game thereafter.

“Our boys did not stick to the game plan and looked short of ideas, and that was our downfall in the match which we lost 2 goals to 1,” said Williams. He also felt that the team wasted a number of scoring opportunities.

Coach Williams said the second match against Trinidad & Tobago was an entirely different situation. The Boyz were brilliant and played according to the game plan. I could not desire anything better,” he said.

The Coach said from what he can remember, it is the first time the Antigua & Barbuda football team has beaten the Trinidad Soca Warriors in a competition. “The Boyz were just brilliant,” he said. “The confidence was there and it ... paid off for us.”

In the third and final match against Haiti when only a draw was sought, the team came out flat in the first half something their coach found rather surprising.

“We did not pressure Haiti enough in the first half and allowed them to dominate, and so the pressure was always on us. In the second half we had a different approach and it was working for us. But Haiti was (on) to us and they changed their game plan, and put even more pressure on us.”

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The Head Coach said the players were not determined enough, and that is where they lost the mental aspect of the game, displaying a lack of self-belief to get the job done.

This is the third time in a CFU tournament that the national team only needed a draw to go through and failed.

Coach Williams described as utter nonsense and rubbish claims that he is doing the same as former national coach Tom Curtis. He however stressed that he could not change everything in two short weeks before the tournament.

“The players were comfortable playing (how) they are accustomed to play under Tom Curtis. But if the pundits are honest in their thinking and analyzing, they would have seen a lot more ball possession and passing during the matches and even more urgency running for the ball.”

Williams also noted that he did well under the circumstances, not having the services of any overseas-based professionals in the team like most of the other teams.

Coach Williams said he is very disappointed for not making it to the semi-finals and a chance at the Gold Cup, but all is not lost at the end of the day. He has expressed thanks to the Football Association for putting the confidence in him to coach the team, and to his coaching staff and the players for the respect they gave him.

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