Roxborough Secondary Girls Football team coach, Anslem Robley feels that national Under-17 and Debe High goalkeeper, Linfah Jones will have to be at her best if she is to keep his side from scoring today.
Roxborough will take on defending two-time national Intercol and Big Four champion, Debe High in the Girls Secondary Schools Football League Big Four final this afternoon at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, from 3 pm.
Jones, in addition to national U-17 players, midfielder Kayla Taylor and defender Patrice Vincent, have been very instrumental in Debe’s success over the past three years.
Taylor has ensured that her name repeatedly makes the scorecard at the end of most matches, while Jones has conceded just four goals this season and six in three years.
“I hope she (Jones) is ready for one on ones with my strikers,” said Robley. “We will see how good she is and if she is as good as they say tomorrow (today).”
In the Roxborough line-up is the aggressive Nathalia Benjamin, who has starred in most of her team’s matches and is now the leading goal scorer for Roxborough. Robley said he is more prepared than last year and is confident of winning today’s final.
“I am confident about winning, it will come down to how the players play and how much they want to win.” Robley said he believes that Debe is not as strong as they previously were, and he will be looking to exploit any weaknesses he discovers.
“We have them in two finals (Big Four and InterCol), so it shows that something has to be going well with our programme, and we will be trying to write our own history.”
Debe’s coach, Arnold Murphy, who prefers a usually more silent confident approach, explained that as always, he will take each match one at a time, and adjust as the game progresses.
“I take each game as it comes. I have not seen Roxborough for 2010 so we will analyse them as the game goes along.” Murphy said that while Jones, Vincent and Taylor will have their roles to play today, winning will be a team effort.
“The entire team will be instrumental. We have three national U-17 players and they each have their job to do in their department, but blended with the other eight players they are going to play as a team.” “We also have a really good ‘keeper and she is there to do a job.”