KINGSTON, Jamaica --- Jamaica’s Waterhouse F.C. left the island confident of a positive output in their return-leg of the Scotiabank Concacaf League against defending champion, Costa Rica’s Herediano F.C.
The decisive leg takes place at the Estadio Eladio Rosabal Cordero on Thursday in Heredia, Costa Rica, at 8:00 p.m. local time.
By virtue of the away-goal rule, Herediano leads the tie after snatching a 1-1 draw at Jamaica’s National Stadium in Kingston last week Thursday.
In that contest, Andre Fletcher had given the host the lead after just three minutes, but Keyner Brown ensured that Herediano did not leave Kingston empty-handed when he responded 14 minutes later.
Waterhouse coach Marcel Gayle is upbeat that his players can shift the advantage back to last season’s runner-up in the Jamaican Premier League.
“From the first leg we saw that we can hurt them and that they can hurt us, so hopefully over the next few days we can put in the necessary work to get ourselves ready to get the win,” he said prior to the team’s departure to Costa Rica on Tuesday.
“Psychologically, I think they (players) are at the right place and they are talking about it; they are communicating with each other, their spirit in training is good. We are really looking forward to this competition and they are really looking forward to it,” he told concacaf.com.
The Jamaican coach believes his players have learnt valuable lessons from the first contest, which if applied, could lead them to the desired result.
“In the first game we were eager, but we are more focused and a little bit more relaxed now, so we have to concentrate a little bit more to get the win we desire.”
Gayle says doing well in the Concacaf League is a high priority for the club this season, therefore, overcoming the home club is part and parcel of the overall objective.
“We are going to showcase our talent and hopefully we can get over the line. Our main objective is to get by Herediano and get to the next round.
“We know that Central American teams play high intensity and high quality football, physically we know that we have to be strong,” he noted.