The highly anticipated “Battle at RFK” last Tuesday night in Washington D.C. fizzled, and turned out to be a meek surrender as Jamaican Caribbean Club champions, Harbour View FC, bowed-out of the CONCACAF Champions Cup with a mere whimper as they were clobbered 5-0 by MLS giants D.C United. Ever so often in “The Sport of Kings”, horse racing, a favored nag or pony performs so miserably that disgruntled punters are asked to disregard that dismal performance as an anomaly. The fans and well-wishers of HVFC are asked to do the same as the evening canter in the American capital was just too bad to be true.
Despite Harbour View’s disappointing performance last Tuesday night on one of the best playing surface most of those players had ever graced, they are still our proud national and Caribbean Champions, and must be commended for even arriving at RFK all squared and with all to play for. Kudos must also be bestowed on a very sharp looking D.C United for an outstanding display of attacking football, and for conducting a text book lesson on how to crush an unprepared opponent. Having spent a small fortune on competent ball-handlers the likes of Gallardo, Fred, Niell, and Emilio, with an eye on the next FIFA World Club Championship, it is easy to conclude that D.C. United will be a very strong force to contend with in the 2008 MLS season.
Of course, our love for the game and basic human nature propel us to ask painful rhetorical questions; why did “The Stars of the East performed so poorly? Did they play according to instructions? Was there a game plan, and if yes, what was it? And, most importantly, was the game lost on or off the field?
In the search for answers to these perplexing questions, I turned to the divine game manual, titled, “Tactical Football Team Selection 101”. Oh, just in case you are scurrying-out the door to the nearest Barnes and Noble or Kingston Book Store to get a copy, be forewarned, I have the only copy in print; an ordained gift from the Gods of the “Beautiful Game”.
My unique bible on football suggests that the exclusion of Clifton Waugh from the Harbour View defensive line was not just a simple tactical error but a gross blunder. Unless, of course, he was unavailable for health or disciplinary reasons which the reports say was not the case. Waugh had a very solid game in the drawn first leg in Kingston , and, with Kemeel Wolf and Rafique Thomas unavailable for esoterical reasons, Waugh’s presence at the back of the team to partner the returning Christopher Harvey was, to the trained eye, a logical decision.
Another reason why Waugh had to retain his place in the HVFC team is that the large RKF field would require shoring-up midfield because that is where the battle was going to be won or lost, and in retrospect, that’s where the battle was lost. Jermaine Taylor had to move into central midfield to assist Richard Edwards with the hard work of damage control which meant that Donald “Foulie” Stewart would have to make way for Lovel Palmer or Keith Kelly. A four-man Harbour View midfield with Jermaine Hue and Donald Stewart on the large RKF turf was insufficient to close down lanes. While Hue ‘s attacking power is unquestioned, objectively speaking, his fitness and defensive work as a midfielder leaves a lot to be desired. Also, Hue’s inherent propensity to find his passes on the third or fourth touch rather than the first or second, proved to be a liability as he was easily closed-down and dispossessed.
The Harbour View team failed to be competitive because the midfield lost it shape, and thus the team fell apart. At 32 years old, Donald Stewart was never going to be able to manage the grueling midfield work required on the night, and this should have been anticipated by the coaching staff. How badly could Waugh have been perceived to play in the first game? His performance was by no means perfect, and away from a few hiccups, he had a pretty solid game, he was in the right place when he had to be, and as the score suggest, he got the job done.
Curiously, in preparation for the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-finals, Harbour View FC did not make any noticeable major acquisitions while the transfer window was open. This would suggest that the club was satisfied with the players it had despite the fact that the local results were consistently unfavorable. A few tactical acquisitions here and there would have made a big difference in the depth of the HVFC squad. With the new CONCACAF Champions League coming in August, Harbour View would do well to take out the check book and go shopping for a few good men. Modern football has evolved as a major business enterprise, and success in the game means that established business principles must be employed. One of the reason why Harbour View, Portmore United, Waterhouse, and Tivoli Gardens are more successful than other local clubs is because they have somewhat conformed to the idea that football is a business and are conducting the affairs of the club accordingly. In the true football business parlance, all players, no matter how gifted, are mere employees, and as such, are expendable, transferable, and waive-able. If a favored player is not performing, and his discipline is non-conforming, get rid of him and acquire a new model.
Without pouring salt into what is already a gaping, deep, open wound, there was a rose among the thorns at the surrender at RFK. The Harbour View midfield engine, Richard “Shortman” Edwards played gallantly for all 93 minutes of the game despite picking-up a yellow card in the fourth minute of play. To the ordinary player, a caution so early in the game would have had a chilling effect on their performance. Not so with iron-man Edwards who, as if inspired or possessed, maintained his form and his technique for the entire game, and he found his passes consistently on his first or second touch. We also saw Edwards taking his shots by blasting-away at the D.C. United goal from some 40 to 50 yards out. While his team mates’ shoulders dropped early as they performed like “untrained seals”, especially in the second half, Edwards soldiered on and won the admiration of the Fox Sports commentators who spoke so favorably of his brave solo performance. With the MLS season on the horizon, and with the CONCACAF 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign just around the corner, Richard “Shortman” Edwards is sure to find work with some foreign legion, and he may even have caught the eye of Jamaica’s technical Director, Rene Simoes.