Clarendon College's Head coach Lenny Hyde embraces player Keheim Dixon.
McNamee Sports Media
It is said that revenge is a dish best served cold, and Clarendon College reminded neighbours Glenmuir High of the famous saying with a 6-2 pounding in an electrifying ISSA/Wata daCosta Cup showpiece, to retain their title at the National Stadium on Saturday.
After going down 2-3 to Glenmuir in the ISSA Champions Cup last week, Clarendon College would have been mindful that vengeance is more satisfying when not inflicted immediately, and almost as if possessed, they produced what could be regarded as the most clinical schoolboy football showing in recent times.
A delightful hat-trick from the prolific Keheim Dixon (2nd, 21st, 90+3), a brace from Jahmelle Ashley (9th, 38th) and one from Deandre Gallimore (67th), propelled the Chapelton-based team to its 11th title, adding to those won in 1977, 1978, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2014, 2018, 2019 and 2022.
Romario Thompson’s 63rd-minute own-goal, and Orel Miller (75th) were Glenmuir’s consolations.
It was also the first time a team scored six goals in a daCosta Cup final in recent times, bettering the previous 5-0 scoreline between Garvey Maceo and Mannings High in 2021.
For Head coach Lenworth “Teacha” Hyde, it was sweet redemption for his team and one which they dedicated to trainer, who was absent due to illness.
“I am very happy and elated, I am happy for the players mostly this one is dedicated to Junior Samuels out trainer, her is not here, he is very ill, and the players were hell-bent that they would come out here and leave everything on the pitch and that’s what they did. They worked very hard for this and the loss the other day made them even hungrier, so it was easy to get them pumped and it showed in their display,” Hyde said in his post-game interview.
With their Champions Cup five-goal thriller whetting the appetites of football enthusiasts, there was never a doubt that the rematch would fail to serve up a treat, and the large turnout in the grandstand, complemented by those in the bleachers, proved that much.
Unlike the Champions Cup when they played the patient game, Clarendon College were in no mood to wait on this occasion and declared their intentions in a frantic start.
They broke the deadlock with only two minutes on the clock as captain Malachi Douglas and Ashley combined in a build-up that paved the way for Dixon to fire home from close range.
Before Glenmuir could catch their breaths, they were two goals down, as Dixon forced a turnover to Douglas, who pass into the 18-yard box inadvertently got to Ashley at the far post, and the player sporting the number nine jersey fired in the roof of the net.
With Glenmuir struggling to contend with their pace, Clarendon College pressed the ascendancy, stretching the opponents defence, but came up empty at that point as Christopher Hull shot wide, and minutes later Glenmuir’s custodian Antwone Gooden, denied Dixon.
Glenmuir eventually came into their own and should have pulled one back in the 20th when Orane Watson dismissed defender and had enough time and space to pick a spot, but somehow hit his effort over the cross bar.
He was left ruing that missed opportunity a minute later when Ashley sent Dixon on his way, and the number 13 dismissed a defender, as well as the advancing Gooden to fire in his 30th goal of the season, and put Clarendon College 3-0 up.
In the 28th Watson went on another break for Glenmuir, but his attempt was charged down by Clarendon College’s Roshae Burrell, who left his line well in the one-on-one situation.
And before long, Ashley added another to Clarendon College’s tally, when he expertly headed in a weighted cross from Ateibo Green to make it 4-0 at the break.
Down, and faced with a mountainous task, Glenmuir came out more purposeful on the resumption and were rewarded for their efforts three minutes past the hour mark, courtesy of Thompson’s own-goal.
However, the celebrations were short-lived, as Clarendon College restored the four goal cushion four minutes later through Gallimore’s well-struck right-footer from the top of the arc that left Gooden beaten all ends up.
Glenmuir continued to show fight, and notched a second goal in 75th. Clarendon College’s defenders failed to deal with an Orane Watson cross which allowed Miller to pounce and finish.
But Clarendon College and their point man Dixon had one more in the bag, which came through a brilliant solo effort in which he slipped by four defenders before firing a right-footer past the hapless Gooden, for his 31st goal of the season, in time added.
Glenmuir’s Head coach Andrew Peart felt his team lost it from the start.
“I thought we had the worst possible start; we planned for them coming high up the field that’s why we had two strikers, but poor decision to play the ball short into the middle of the field cost us. That was the start that Clarendon College wanted because they are a rhythm team, and they want to be up early. Second half, we were a bit more controlled, but it was just a good start, and we just couldn’t get back to them from there,” Peart noted.
Clarendon College will next face Manning Cup champions Mona High for the Olivier Shield, at Glenmuir’s field on Wednesday.
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
PSV seek to bounce back from Ajax loss
PSV want to use Tuesday's Champions League clash against Girona as a chance to bounce back after losing their 100% record in domestic football.
They still lead the Eredivisie by 15 points but after winning 10 games on the trot, let a 2-1 lead slip and went down 3-2 to Ajax in Amsterdam on Saturday.
PSV have a good chance to get back on track when they host Girona in what will be the first meeting between the teams.
"Everyone who has played football has lost at some point," said PSV coach Peter Bosz on Monday.
"You go home with a bad feeling and wake up the next day with a bad feeling. But then you also know that the next match is coming up.
"When you play in Europe, there are two or three days in between. It is like that almost every week, so as a player or as a coach you have to learn to move on from your disappointment quickly. We discuss the game afterwards and then we draw a line under it and move on to the next one."
Girona have already taken on PSV's domestic rivals Feyenoord in the new-look Champions League this season, losing at the start of last month, though Bosz is expecting a stern test form last season's surprise package in LaLiga.
"A team that wants to dominate opponents," Bosz said of their Spanish opponents.
"Also against Feyenoord, more possession, 11 corners to Feyenoord's zero. They want to build from the back, play real football.
"They did a great job in Spain last year. If you finish third there, that's something very special. You need a lot of quality, otherwise you won't last a season. This year they're having a bit more trouble, also because of the extra matches in the Champions League."
PSV have yet to win in the group phase this season, while they have won just two out of 20 European Cup/Champions League games against Spanish teams (D9 L9).
However, the last Spanish side to win away at PSV in European competition was Granada in October 2020 in the Europa League (2-1), with each of the last three visiting sides failing to win there (D2 L1): Real Sociedad (D1) and Sevilla on two occasions (D1 L1).
Sporting want to show they 'don't need Amorim', says Hjulmand
Sporting CP captain Morten Hjulmand says the club are ready to show what they can do without Ruben Amorim.
The head coach is set to join Manchester United on November 11, having signed a deal that will keep him at Old Trafford until the end of the 2026-27 season.
Sporting have made a brilliant start to the season, currently sitting top of the league table, winning all 10 of their matches so far, and are also unbeaten in the Champions League.
Despite their impressive showing so far, Hjulmand says he is prepared for the challenge that lies ahead.
"It is a positive challenge [to not play under Amorim]," Hjulmand said ahead of their Champions League meeting with Manchester City on Tuesday.
"Winning the championship remains the goal. Life goes on, we now want to show that we don't need Ruben.
"It was difficult for me to know that he is leaving. I was sad. That he was going to leave me too. But in football, opportunities like these happen to players and coaches.
"It's part of football and I hope Ruben is proud to receive an offer of this kind."
During his four-and-a-half-year tenure at Sporting, Amorim guided them to two Primeira Liga titles and took charge of 156 league games, the most of any coach in the club's history (according to Opta's records).
He also boasts the best win ratio of any Sporting coach on record, winning 120 of those matches in the Portuguese top-flight (76.92%).
Hjulmand, who was signed by Amorim in August 2023 from Lecce, admitted he was sad to see him leave, but believes he can do a good job at United.
"Ruben was one of the reasons why I came to Sporting," he added. "When you are coached by him, you get a clear idea of the way he sees football and how he sees us being part of the team.
It's a very important image for the player, to know what his role is, what he can contribute to the team. It was very important when I joined Sporting.
"The way he sees the players, how he manages the team on and off the field... It's something I've never seen in my career. Manchester United will be in good hands with Ruben.
"We are resigned that Ruben will leave, we will have a good coach, in whom we believe.
"Everyone who works at Sporting made a good choice with this new coach. The fans also believe in the new coach. The championship is going on, and we have to win it."
Premier League MD10: Lucky winners and unlucky losers
We are now 10 games into the Premier League season and the table is beginning to take shape, but that does not mean there is no room for an upset or two.
On Saturday, both Manchester City and Arsenal fell to surprise defeats at Bournemouth and Newcastle United respectively.
It was only the third time since the start of 2017-18 that both of the previous season's top two teams had lost on the same day in the Premier League, after March 7, 2021 and January 14, 2023.
Pep Guardiola's champions could have few complaints about the result at the Vitality Stadium, where Andoni Iraola's Cherries won the expected goals (xG) battle by 2.04 to 1.56.
But which other games featured a lucky winner or an unlucky loser? We delve into the Opta data to find out.
Unlucky losers: Arsenal
The weekend's action began with Arsenal travelling to St James' Park to face Newcastle, with Mikel Arteta's side chasing a victory to move within a point of leaders Liverpool.
However, they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat as Alexander Isak's early goal proved enough for Newcastle to make it three wins in their last four home league games against Arsenal (one loss).
The Gunners could count themselves unlucky to come away from Tyneside with nothing, however, after limiting Newcastle to a measly 0.53 xG – 0.25 of which came from the chance for Isak's goal.
Only West Ham, who played half of their defeat to Nottingham Forest with 10 men, created a lower figure across the nine games to take place this weekend, with 0.13 xG.
Arsenal were far from their free-flowing best, though, only recording 10 attempts worth 1.05 xG themselves. They have averaged just 7.4 shots per game in their away Premier League matches this season, with only Brentford (7.5) taking fewer.
Lucky winners: Southampton
Just two teams – Wolves and Ipswich Town – remain without a victory in the Premier League after Southampton finally got off the mark by beating Everton 1-0 at St Mary's.
Russell Martin's team accumulated just 0.74 xG to Everton's 1.56, but Adam Armstrong's strike five minutes from time handed them a huge three points in their fight for safety.
While Beto, who headed against the crossbar just 25 seconds before Armstrong's winner, and Jack Harrison spurned great chances for the Toffees, Southampton were also grateful for a late VAR intervention, as the former saw a potential leveller chalked off for a marginal offside call.
It was the first time Everton had failed to score against Southampton in the Premier League since February 2022, bringing their five-match unbeaten run in the competition to a halt.
Unlucky losers: Crystal Palace
Southampton ended the weekend in 19th, above winless Wolves after they were pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at Molineux.
Marc Guehi salvaged a draw for the Eagles, who were without star men Adam Wharton and Eberechi Eze yet arguably still did enough to leave the West Midlands with all three points.
They racked up 19 shots totalling 2.51 xG to their hosts' 11, which had a total value of 1.51 xG. Palace's xG figure was the highest in the Premier League this weekend, but they were missing their shooting boots as Ismaila Sarr squandered two glorious chances when they were a goal to the good in the second half.
With both defences struggling, this was only the second Premier League game of the season to be goalless at half-time but see both sides score at least twice in the second half, after Everton 2-3 Bournemouth in August.
There could have been a fifth goal in stoppage time, too, as Jean-Phillipe Mateta saw a potential winner disallowed for a foul on Jose Sa in the build-up. Wolves – and their under-fire head coach Gary O'Neil – arguably got away with one.
Lucky winners: Chelsea
Sunday's late game saw Chelsea fight back to draw 1-1 with Manchester United at Old Trafford, denying Ruud van Nistelrooy a first Premier League win as the Red Devils' interim head coach.
Moises Caicedo's well-taken volley cancelled out Bruno Fernandes' penalty and Chelsea arguably looked the more likely victors in the second half, but they only generated 1.1 xG from their 12 attempts – and just 0.29 from six after the interval.
United, meanwhile, had chances worth 1.98 xG, though Fernandes' spot-kick – with an xG value of 0.79 – was a major contributing factor.
Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho squandered decent opportunities for United, though, and incoming boss Ruben Amorim has plenty of work to do with their attackers.
United have scored just nine goals in 10 Premier League games this season – their worst record through 10 matches of any league campaign since 1973-74 (also nine).
Fans of a certain vintage will need no reminder of what happened at the end of that season – United were relegated from the First Division, their fate sealed by club legend Denis Law scoring against them with a nonchalant backheel, while representing rivals Man City.
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