Reynolds - Sporting weren't soft on Lions

Sporting Central Academy are scoffing at any suggestion that they were deliberately soft so as to help fellow Clarendon team Humble Lion win 2-1 in their Digicel Premier League game at Brancourt on Wednesday.

Ever since Sporting hammered Humble Lion 3-0 in a humiliating welcome to the league in 2009, the contest between the two have been anything but friendly. The last five had been characterised by heavy tackling and ended in contentious draws.

"This is not like last year when we had to risk everything to avoid relegation," argued Vassell Reynolds, the man who was drafted in at the start of the fourth round as a special assistant to acting coach Nigel Stewart.

last match

Last time Sporting waited until the last match against Rivoli to win and avoid relegation. This time, with Reynolds' help, they whittled away early any serious vulnerability to relegation by winning their two first fourth-round games against Arnett Gardens and Benfica. Those six points took them to 46 and top of the bottom six. With two matches to go, only a bizarre set of circumstances can interfere with their safety.

shifting focus

With this platform, Reynolds said it was clear from the outset they would not have to play all their cards.

"After winning two games and realising that we were over the line (safe), we wanted to shift the focus in terms of what we wanted to achieve for the remainder of the season," said Reynolds.

A high priority in terms of preparation was not on the Humble Lion's game

"You have to bear in mind the last couple of games have been tough against Humble Lion, and we wanted to take it easy on our legs as far as possible where injuries were concerned, we have a number of key players who are nursing injuries."

In addition, the club currently lead the Under-21 standings and Reynolds wants to maximise their opportunities to win that league.

"Right now we are leading the Under-21 and I know for a fact that the management wants to win that competition."