Kingston College’s (KC’s) faith in Jermaine Miller has already paid dividends, with the first-year head coach delivering the ISSA Walker Cup knockout title after being entrusted with the school’s senior football programme.
Miller guided KC to their 10th Walker Cup crown yesterday as they came from behind to defeat Mona High 2-1 at Stadium East, ending a nine-year drought in the competition.
Miller said the title was a reward for the confidence shown by KC’s principal Dave Myrie and the school’s management team.
He explained they had recognised his work at the U16 level and made the decision to promote him to KC’s U19 programme following the departure of Vassell Reynolds.
“It just shows the trust that the principal, Mr Myrie, and the management team have in me,” Miller said.
“They look at what I’ve been doing at the U16 level and thought I needed to be at the top of the programme, so I must say thanks to them for believing in me and it’s just the start of the work.”
That work produced an immediate result, although KC had to overcome a difficult start against Mona.
Skylar McFarlane put Mona ahead in the 15th minute and Miller felt his team lacked the fighting spirit required during the opening half.
A rallying half-time talk has ignited a spark in KC which saw them surge to life in the second half of the contest.
“We went down one nil so, at half-time, I said ‘This is Kingston College. The brave may fall but never yield’. So we came out and fought in the second half, kept playing our brand of football but really put our heart into it,” Miller said after the match.
Rasheed Payne brought KC level in the 60th minute when his free kick struck the underside of the crossbar before crossing the goal line.
KC’s captain Kamaul Patterson completed the comeback in the 75th minute, looping the ball over the head of Mona’s goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
Patterson, who played under Miller at the U16 level, praised his coach’s leadership and welcomed the opportunity to continue working with him in the senior programme.
“It’s not my first season with him, because Coach Miller is the coach that brought me into Kingston College footbal. So, I’ve been playing for him since the under-16 level,” Patterson said.
For Miller, the Walker Cup title is an encouraging start, but he believes there is more work to be done.
gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com
