“The spirit in the team is great,” said Defence Force head coach Ross Russell following his team’s 3-0 victory over homeside Tobago United on Saturday which extended the soldiers’ perfect run to nine out of nine.
“Our players have a do not want to lose mentality,” he continued.
The Tetron based boys are ten points clear at the top of the 2010 Digicel Pro League standings with 27 points with a record nine straight wins, but admits that Saturday’s Round One Match Day Ten visit to Tobago, in which both sides were reduced to eight-men, was a difficult one.
“It was a bit tough because they were the home team,” added Russell. “I think Tobago was a good test for us as well although they lost three players (Kayode Mc Kinnon, Dwayne Jack, Kevon Woodley) to red cards as well.
Defence Force players Albert Dexter Thornhill, Kevon Carter and Michael Edwards were shown direct red cards by match referee Lynk Davis.
“We tend to lose our confidence when the game is much easier, because we play better when the game is harder.”
Russell explained that his side stuck to their game plan to come out with the comfortable 3-0 result in the end with a double by leading goalscorer Devon Jorsling netting in the 82nd and 90th minutes and an item by Jerwyn Balthazar in the 88th minute.
Russell praised Jorsling for proving himself match after match scoring a total of eleven goals in eight appearances for the soldiers.
“He a (T&T) national player and knows he has to keep in top form,” said Russell. Its nothing strange that he is scoring a lot of goals because he has been scoring lots of goals in the past three seasons.
“But I always remind him that he has to do well in the domestic league and in every game because the local based players get a raw deal when it comes to national selection with the foreign based players getting automatic picks,” said the Defence Force coach, a former Trinidad and Tobago international himself.