Hazendal United head coach Kashief Lewis conceded there is “method in his madness” for agreeing to first play two of their remaining four league fixtures – two days ahead of their crunch Coke Cup semi-final clash against the champions Diadora FC on Sunday.
Hazendal is again vying for promotion this season and is currently locked in a two-horse race with South End FC at the Rygate LFA.
South End is the log leader with a five-point gap over Hazendal, but has played two games more than the latter.
The former will face Everton Spurs FC and D&G Orient in their remaining two matches, while Hazendal will have to overcome Bridgetown FC,Oriental Gunners FC, Salt River Celtic FC and Junction Rovers FC in their last fixtures of the campaign.
South End and Hazendal go head-to-head on Wednesday evening (19:00) at the Johnson Road Sports Complex and it is a must-win affair for Hazendal to stay in the hunt.
Should all go to plan for Lewis and his troops, they will be declared League champions for the second consecutive season and will have another go at the playoffs for the Third Division.
Hazendal was knocked out of the group stages at the regional playoffs held at the William Herbert Sports Ground last season after much promise and expectation.
It is quite evident that Lewis is aware he has unfinished business with his squad.
Lewis, or Dopey as he is better known, informed No Bones with Jones that the Rygate LFA has given him an option to play the games at a later stage after the Coke Cup semi, but he declined insisting that he wanted to take charge of the title race before shifting his focus to the prestigious cup competition
“Look, the league remains my first priority and my thinking is to be in control of our own destiny before we shift our focus to the Coke Cup – and that is my method of madness,” Lewis explained.
“I’m aware that not everyone will agree with me, but I call the shots and I will do whatever I feel is in the best interest of my players and the club, you know.
“I only brought in three players from outside with the rest coming from the Bokmakierrie (Hazendal) area.
There are also a number of youngsters from our Bayhill squad. You see last season (at the playoffs) we didn’t have enough depth and that is why we had to adjust accordingly.
“The other challenge that I have is that other clubs are poaching players everywhere and I have to be on the lookout for that as well. It is not easy keeping your players on board as clubs are ruthless out there,” Lewis concluded.
One Response
Tonight’s match is effectively a 6-points match. If Hazendal wins, they will be 2 points behind with 2 games in hand. Of the last 4 matches, they than need to win 3, that’s it. The coaches thinking is quite interesting in focusing on the League and will shift their attention afterwards to the Coke Cup semi-final. If they get a setback in the League, it can have a ripple effect on their Coke Cup clash. Amazingly, I agree with his approach.