‘Tegat’ urges Montego Bay players to adapt after dull draw

CATHERINE HALL, St James — Newly appointed Montego Bay United Head Coach Paul “Tegat” Davis says he and the team are going through some adjustments and it could take some time for them to get on the same page.

Davis took charge for the first time against Racing United in the Jamaica Premier League game at Montego Bay Sports Complex on Thursday, as the teams played out a mostly dull 0-0 result in front of a restless crowd.

Fans suffered through a drab 90 minutes, devoid of imagination or guile instead of an exciting encounter between two very attacking teams.

“We would have loved to win this game; we are at home,” Davis told the Jamaica Observer after the game. “It could have been a psychological thing with the players — the [former] coach left, and that might have played a part, but we are professionals and we have to learn to adapt, just like how I am adapting.”

Davis, who had guided Montego Bay to the premier league title in 2016, took over the reins of the currently third-placed team after the departure of Rodolfo Zapata last week.

On Monday, long-time Assistant Coach Dillon Thelwell, in an interim head coach role, led Montego Bay to a 3-1 win over Tivoli Gardens FC. And fans had expected a winning start on Davis’s return.

Davis, who made two changes to the starting team from Monday, bringing in a third central defender in Odean Nish, said he wanted to keep things as they were.

“I did not try to change too many things. My game is a passing game... the team played well, but only in spurts. They were too lethargic, and hopefully by the next game we can step up the pace.

“However, we could have done much better. We were going through the middle too much — and that is where they [Racing] are strong. The few times we went down the wings, we got some chances. Football is like that.”

Anthony Patrick, who has led Racing United since they were playing in the Jamaica Football Federation Championships (Tier 2), said while the game “could have gone either way” they were satisfied with the point away from home against one of the top teams in the competition.

“We shared the points today — this is what we spoke about from the beginning of the season. We want to get points from the top four or top five teams every time we play them,” he told the Observer.

“We are pretty satisfied with the one point today. You know, we could have won the game.”

Racing United were promoted, along with Chapelton Maroons. But they are the only promoted team over the last three campaigns who haven’t been mired in relegation struggles at this point of a season.

Patrick said: “We belong here, definitely we are here to stay. From the start of the season we set out to play attractive football. We are happy and confident; we nullified Montego Bay in the first half and then tried to win it in the last 20 [minutes].”