Michael Tulloch, new coach at Constant Spring. – File
Two of the 12 teams in the Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) Claro Super League will enter today's 10th round of matches without the coaches they started the season with.
Constant Spring will travel to third-place Santos (19 points) in the day's feature game at the Bell-Chung Stadium. Jerome Waite will, however, not be the man at the helm of Constant Spring following his dismissal after the team played to their fifth draw of the season against the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) last week. Constant Spring, despite an unbeaten run in the Super League, are fourth in the standings, three points behind leaders Cavalier (20 points).
Constant Spring will go into today's match following their first loss of the season in all competitions as their new coach, former Jamaica and JDF forward, Micheal Tulloch, tasted defeat in his first game in charge on Wednesday. They were knocked out of the Claro Jackie Bell competition by Major League outfit, Greenwich Town.
Santos are, on the other hand, flying high. They registered a 3-1 win over Maverley/Hughenden to progress to the semi-finals of the knockout competition. Maverley/Hughenden were prepared for the game by Glenroy Flowers, who took over following Tulloch's departure. Flowers will take charge for the remainder of the season and will be assisted by Dennis 'Blinks' Duncan.
'we have to just move on'
Shaun Charlton, manager of Constant Spring, believes his team will have to just move on despite all that has transpired.
"We had a team meeting with the players and their heads are in one place for the match coming Saturday (today)," Charlton said. "They have committed themselves to the task ahead and the approach we are planning to take against Santos is an approach that we just have to get over the hurdles, move forward and gain those three points," he added.
Santos' coach, Carlton Dennis, is confident that his team will be able to protect their home record, which has seen them collect 10 out of 12 possible points.
"We have a very good record at home and we don't want to spoil it, so we will ensure that we keep our home record in place. We will definitely be going for a win on Saturday," Dennis said. "As I say, we don't lose at the Bell-Chung," he added.
The round's other games will see eighth-place Real Mona (9 points) host leaders Cavalier (20 points) at Buttercup Park. Second-place Rae Town (19 points) will march to Up Park Camp to tackle fifth-place JDF (16 points), while sixth-place Mountain View (14 points) will travel to ninth-place Bull Bay (8 points) at the Bull Pen. The Barbican playing field will be the venue for the game between seventh-place Barbican (12 points) and 10th-place Duhaney Park (6 points). Meadhaven United (two) and 11th-place Maverley/Hughenden (three) meet in a bottom-of-the-ladder clash.
GAME TIMES
Santos vs Constant Spring
Venue: Bell-Chung Stadium
Real Mona vs Cavalier
Venue: Buttercup Park
JDF vs Rae Town
Venue: Up Park Camp
Bull Bay vs Mountain View
Venue: Bull Pen
Barbican vs Duhaney park
Venue: Barbican
Marverley/Hughenden vs Meadhaven United
Venue: Marverley
All matches kick off at 3 p.m.