Joseph rates team’s victory as a collective effort

By Timothy Jaikarran

The Lady Jags having dominated St Lucia 2-0 at the Leonora Track and Field Centre on Friday, their coach, Ivan Joseph, has said he is ecstatic with the win over St Lucia, and has rated it as a collective effort.
Asked what it feels like to be table-toppers, Joseph said, “Well, first of all, it’s a collective team effort, so I’m happy for the ladies. I know they put in a lot of hard work, and I know that was a great St Lucia team we beat. I am also happy to see our local players score from right over the river.
“You know, heading into the matchup, we were confident, but our main focus was to try to stop the St Lucian captain, Krysan St. Louis, from getting touches. If you noticed, she was shattered all game. Also, we focused on number 10, Tanika Bernard. So we knew (that) once we did our job, things would happen.”
The U-20 coach also noted that while the Jags’ main focus was St Lucia, they will now have to turn their attention to Suriname.
He reiterated that his intention is to not appoint a captain for the team, because he believes that every player on the team is an individual leader.
“I find that, in coaching women’s teams, they are leader-full; so we look to see how we can delegate that authority across the board, rather than putting it in one or two people. In terms of that (strategy), things have been working really well. You could see that we have a very boisterous bench and a supportive group of young people,” he said.
Joseph also said he was extremely proud of midfielders Nailah Rowe and Serena McDonald. He said that while they are young, he knows they have a bright future ahead, owing to the fact that they have another U-20 Championship tournament in which to play.