Hydel's Head coach Devon Anderson (left) and Neville "Bertis" Bell of St George's College.
A new champion will be crowned in this year’s ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup, as St George’s College denied defending champions Jamaica College a spot in the semi-final for the first time since 2012, after they played out a 1-1 stalemate in their decisive Group two quarterfinal encounter at Ashenheim Stadium on Saturday.
St George’s College entered the contest needing only a point and did enough to ensure they got in when Brian Burkett converted a 45+3-minute penalty. Though Jamaica College pulled on back through substitute Jayd Johnson (59th), stout defending, coupled with some excellent glove work by D’Jone Davis, in goal for St George’s College, broke the hearts of their Old Hope Road-based counterparts.
With the point, St George’s College finished second on five points, two behind group winners Hydel High, who were 3-1 winners over Tivoli High in their fixture at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.
Both St George’s College and Hydel will next face Mona High and Kingston College respectively in the semi-final, with all four teams also set to represent the urban area in the all-island Champions Cup knockout tournament.
Meanwhile, Jamaica College, who ended third on three points, it is on to the consolation Walker Cup knockout tournament, along with the pointless Tivoli, who are defending champions.
Marcel Gayle, assistant coach of many-time champions St George’s College was delighted by the outcome, which he credited to the work done by goalkeeper Davis, in particular.
“I must say credit to Jamaica College, they are a very quality team, fought hard, and it is something that we were prepared for. It was a case of defence versus attack and we defended stoutly, credit must be given to D’Jone in goal, he was fantastic and I think he made the difference for us today,” Gayle said in a post-game interview.
With 53 titles between them, the clash between Jamaica College and Jamaica College was always expected to be a humdinger affair and it didn’t disappoint.
The games started at a good tempo with both teams going at each other in end-to-end action. Jamaica College gradually gained the ascendancy, as they showed more enterprise in attack which resulted in numerous squandered chances.
They should have opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Jabarie Howell was left unmarked deep inside the 18-yard box, but his shot kept out by Davis.
A minute later Jamoy Dennis produced a tidy run down the right channel and played a pass inside to Amarlie King, who couldn’t sort his feet out in time to get a shot on target.
Jamaica College again went close in the 24th when Malachi Sterling combined with King on a counterattack, but the latter again muffed his effort.
The “Dark Blues” of Old Hope Road, thought they had the go-ahead goal on the half-hour mark, but the goal was flagged offside.
As St George’s College struggled to break free, Jamaica College was again denied by Davis, who left his line well to block Tahir Lawrence’s stinging shot from point blank range, in the 35th minute.
Just when it seemed like the teams would go into the break goalless, the “Light Blues” of North Street found the lead against the run of play when Burkett converted from the penalty spot, after Zabir Taylor was felled inside the area by Javaun Mills.
Having paid for their profligacy, Jamaica College now requiring two goals to progress, again came out pressing on the resumption and pulled level 14 minutes in. This, as Johnson got in behind defenders and applied a tidy finish beyond Davis from an angle.
The Davion Ferguson-coached Jamaica College continued to create chances in their push for the winner. The best of those came in the latter stages when Johnson’s freekick was blocked by Davis and three players converged on the rebound but none could convert in time added.
That basically summed up Jamaica College’s Day, and Ferguson was left bitterly disappointed.
“We came out here today with a plan, we created enough chances to win the game and we just didn’t put them away. We’ve had some issues up to and it showed here today. St George’s came here with a resilient spirit, and they deserve to go through, so congratulations to them,” he said.
Saturday’s results
St George’s College 1, Jamaica College 1
Hydel High 3, Tivoli High 1
Semi-Final Matchups
Mona High vs St George's College
Hydel High vs Kingston College
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
Back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of World Cup Girlz for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal when they visit Brazil for two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games scheduled for June 1 and 4 are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada las September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Paris Saint-Germain 3-3 Le Havre: Ramos rescues point but title confirmation must wait
Paris Saint-Germain were held to a 3-3 draw at home to relegation-battling Le Havre on Saturday and will need to wait before confirming their 12th Ligue 1 title.
PSG would have clinched the title with three games to spare with a victory. They have a 12-point gap over second-placed Monaco, who are at Lyon on Sunday, and a goal difference of 47 to Monaco's 18.
The away side opened the scoring in the 19th minute through Christopher Operi and PSG levelled 10 minutes later with Bradley Barcola scoring, but Le Havre went ahead again seven minutes before the break when Andre Ayew found the net.
Le Havre made it 3-1 with an Abdoulaye Toure penalty in the 61st minute, before Achrif Hakimi gave PSG hope with a goal 12 minutes from time and Goncalo Ramos levelled in added time. Le Havre are 15th on 29 points.
Aston Villa 2-2 Chelsea: Gallagher caps Blues fightback at Villa Park
Conor Gallagher scored the equaliser as Chelsea fought back from two goals down to clinch a deserved 2-2 draw with Champions League-chasing Aston Villa on Saturday.
Villa looked set to go nine points clear of Tottenham in the race to finish in the Premier League's top four, with Marc Cucurella's own goal and Morgan Rogers' low drive giving them a handsome half-time lead.
Mauricio Pochettino's men dominated much of the first half without reward, but they continued to press after the interval and cultured finishes from Noni Madueke and Gallagher dragged them level.
They almost completed a fine comeback in stoppage time, but there was relief for Villa when referee Craig Pawson disallowed a goal for Chelsea defender Axel Disasi following a VAR review due to an infringement from Benoit Badiashile.
It meant Villa boss Unai Emery was unable to celebrate his new long-term contract with three points, with his team now seven points clear of fifth-placed Spurs, who have three games in hand on their rivals.
Chelsea stay ninth and are five points adrift of the top seven, but with a game in hand to come, their European hopes are not yet over.
Villa made a flying start and were ahead within four minutes, albeit in somewhat fortunate circumstances. John McGinn didn't get a clean connection on Lucas Digne's left-wing cutback, but his shot bounced off Cucurella and into the net.
Chelsea thought they were level after 16 minutes as Nicolas Jackson raced clear to finish into the roof of the net, but his strike was disallowed for offside after a VAR review, with replays showing he was leaning beyond Matty Cash.
Jackson should then have equalised when found by Cucurella six yards out, but he could only send his header against the foot of the post and wide.
Villa then doubled their lead against the run of play shortly before half-time, with Djordje Petrovic powerless as Rogers squeezed his shot through Trevoh Chalobah's legs and in.
A hamstring injury saw Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez withdrawn at half-time, and his replacement Robin Olsen was beaten after 62 minutes, Madueke stroking home after Gallagher forced a high turnover.
Olsen stuck out an arm to deny Madueke a second with 71 minutes gone, but he had no chance as the Blues levelled with nine minutes to play, Gallagher rifling a left-footed finish into the top-left corner.
Chelsea thought they had won it when Disasi headed home five minutes into stoppage time, but referee Pawson disallowed the goal following a VAR review, with Badiashile adjudged to have fouled Diego Carlos in the build-up.
Villa throw it away
Villa could hardly have wished for a stronger position at half-time. Despite Chelsea carving out several good openings, they found themselves 2-0 up and primed to exploit their opponents further through the pace of Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey.
Chelsea had lost 16 of their previous 18 Premier League games when trailing at half-time (one win, one draw), losing their last eight when two or more goals behind at the break.
However, Emery's men simply didn't get going after the restart, and only a late VAR review saved them from a crushing defeat, with Disasi's potential winner chalked off for a foul by fellow defender Badiashile.
Gallagher leads from the front
Gallagher has polarised opinion at times this season, but Chelsea's stand-in skipper produced a talismanic display just when his team needed him most at Villa Park.
The England international is known for his tenacious work out of possession, and he forced a turnover on the corner of the Villa box in the build-up to Madueke's goal.
Gallagher's own strike, which flew into the top corner to stun the home faithful, took him to double figures for Premier League goal involvements for the season (four goals, six assists). He has only achieved that feat in one other campaign in the competition, scoring eight goals and adding three assists on loan at Crystal Palace in 2021-22.
Four of his seven Premier League goals for Chelsea, meanwhile, have now come from outside the area.
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