STETHS Head Coach, Omar Wedderburn.
Former champions Cornwall College and St Elizabeth Technical High (STETHS), as well as Cedric Titus High, won their respective zones on Wednesday as the race for qualification points in the second round of the ISSA/Wata DaCosta Cup football competition heats up.
Lincoln Cox scored his second double of the season while Dane Buckley and Javaine Barnes scored one goal each as Cornwall College beat Spot Valley High 4-1 in their return round game as they cruised to 23 points and wrapped up Zone A honours.
Second-placed Irwin High, who were held 1-1 by Green Pond High at Green Pond, moved to 19 points, four points behind Cornwall College, with one game to go for both teams.
In another game, St James High beat Maldon High 4-0.
STETHS played out a 1-1 draw against Munro College at Munro, and the point took them to 23 at the top of Zone E, and any of the other teams cannot catch them.
BB Coke moved to 19 points, one point away from advancing from Zone E after a 3-1 win over Lacovia High.
Cedric Titus edged Browns Town High 2-1 and improved to 25 points more than any other team in Zone C can get, while William Knibb Memorial kept their slim hopes of advancing alive after beating Ocho Rios High 2-0 in their Zone C playoff game.
Wednesday also saw The Mannings School wrap up their spot in the second round after beating Knockabout Technical 3-0 in their return leg Zone D game played at the Mannings grounds.
Gregory Phillips scored twice while Akieme Gordon got the third.
The win carried Mannings School to 16 points from five wins and a draw as they reclaimed the lead from Petersfield High, who are tied on 13 points with Black River High.
Mannings School, who made it to the semi-finals in the last two competitions, can win the zone on Saturday’s final game against Grange Hill.
On Thursday, despite being held to a 2-2 draw by Knox College, Mile Gully High is the first second-round qualifier from Zone G.
The point Mile Gully earned from the return round game was enough to see them win the zone as they took their points tally to 19, four more than second-placed Christiana High and five more than Knox College.
It was Mile Gully’s first time qualifying for the second round since the 2018 season.
Belair High and Edwin Allen High are also through to the second round after both scored 2-0 wins on Thursday.
Christian Henry and Daniel Brown scored for Belair High in their win over May Day High to push their points tally to 24 to take the second spot behind Manchester High, who were 1-0 winners over DeCarteret College and took their points tally to 27.
Edwin Allen High, who won the Ben Francis KO two years ago, joined defending champions Clarendon College as the qualifiers from Zone H after beating Lennon High 2-0.
Jahleel Blackwood and team captain Kimolar Ferron scored to give Edwin Allen a 2-0 win over Lennon High in their first meeting of the season, improved to 18 points, and secured second place.
Champions Clarendon College extended their winning run to seven games with a 4-1 win over Thompson Town and are 21 points at the top of Zone H.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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