Mona High may have relinquished their Manning Cup crown, but they are now one step away from redemption after a tense 4-3 penalty shootout victory over St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) in the ISSA Walker Cup Knockout semi-finals at the Stadium East Field on Thursday.
A 1-1 deadlock after regulation time, played under soggy conditions due to persistent rain, set the stage for the nail-biting finish that booked Mona a December 6 showdown against Excelsior High, who earlier secured a 2-0 win over Wolmer’s Boys in their contest.
Keeno Levy’s own goal gave Mona a 43rd-minute lead, but Alexavier Gooden’s 90th-minute freekick kept STATHS hopes alive until the dreaded penalties.
While it was not the title that they wanted to play for, Mona’s coach Dane Peralto praised his team’s resilience and welcomed the opportunity to possibly add the Walker Cup to their trophy cabinet.
“It was a gritty performance; the conditions didn’t allow us to play the ball as well as we would like to, but we showed some composure, especially when we were kicking the penalties. Winning a title is always a good thing; this Walker Cup was never our end game, but we are in it to try to win something at least, so we will definitely go for it,” Peralto said in a post-game interview.
The match began on a cautious note, with both sides struggling to adjust to the heavy underfoot conditions. STATHS nearly seized an early lead when JLoyd Smith unleashed a long-range rocket in the eighth minute, but Mona’s goalkeeper, Riquelme Edwards, pulled off a stunning acrobatic save to deny him.
Mona grew into the game and went close in the 38th minute when Denzel McKenzie’s curling free kick rattled the crossbar.
However, fortune smiled on the dethroned champions five minutes later. A mix-up between STATHS goalkeeper Jaheem Thomas and defender Levy resulted in the latter inadvertently steering the ball into his own net while attempting to clear, giving Mona a 1-0 lead at the break.
The second half was a scrappy affair, with chances hard to come by as the soggy pitch hampered fluid play. Mona’s Demarion Harris had the best opportunity in the 64th minute, breaking through the defence to unleash a powerful right-footed strike that Thomas expertly parried.
Just as Mona seemed poised to see out the game, STATHS found a lifeline in the dying moments of regulation time. Gooden stepped up and fired a free kick from just over 20 yards out through Mona’s four-man wall and past a helpless Edwards to level the score and force the game into penalties.
The penalty shootout as expected was dramatic, but Mona displayed composure under pressure, converting four of their five spot-kicks through Carlton Brown, Robino Gordon, Dante Peralto, and Cameron Sailsman. Denzel McKenzie’s effort, however, was saved.
For STATHS, Gooden, Howard Linton, and Delaney White found the back of the net, but Smith’s attempt clanged off the crossbar, and Ajetai Marshall’s kick was saved by Edwards.
STATHS’ Head coach Phillip Williams lauded his players, though the loss was a bitter pill to swallow.
“It’s the lottery, and we can’t do anything about it; it is about nerves, but I think the guys did well today. The underfoot condition played a factor, but the boys gave their best,” he stated.
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
Maresca and Emery hail 'fantastic' European displays ahead of Stamford Bridge clash
Enzo Maresca and Unai Emery both lauded "fantastic" European displays from Chelsea and Aston Villa respectively, ahead of their clash on Sunday.
Villa visit Stamford Bridge on the back of a 0-0 draw with Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Chelsea, meanwhile, defeated Heidenheim 2-0 on Thursday.
And both bosses were delighted with what they saw from their teams in their midweek fixtures.
Maresca, who named a team of fringe players, suggested Thursday's clash was the ideal chance for his second-string options to build up some minutes.
"They did fantastic. I think all of them," he said.
"Jadon Sancho had a very good game. Axel [Disasi] and Benoit [Badiashile]. Cesare Casadei did well. They are ready and it's important.
"Filip Jorgensen had a very good game. We have nine or 10 games in December so they are going to get more chances. They need to be ready."
Emery had to go much stronger with his selection against Juve, with Villa somewhat harshly denied a late winner when Morgan Rogers saw a goal disallowed.
"It was fantastic," Emery said, even though his team are now winless in seven games.
"We needed one match like this, playing seriously with a clean sheet, defending strong, being compact and then trying to impose and dominate some areas of the match.
"We didn't create a lot of chances but we didn't concede a lot of chances. We were closer to scoring and in the second half we were progressively getting better."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chelsea - Nicolas Jackson
Five of Jackson's seven Premier League goals this season have put Chelsea 1-0 ahead in the match – coming into this weekend's games, only Chris Wood (six) has scored the opening goal in more different games this term.
Aston Villa - Ollie Watkins
Watkins has scored in his last two Premier League away games against Chelsea, with both ending up being the winning goal in the match.
No visiting player has ever scored three match-winning goals at Stamford Bridge in the competition.
MATCH PREDICTION: CHELSEA WIN
Chelsea are winless in their last three Premier League meetings with Villa (D1 L2), last having a longer such run against them between February 2006 and December 2007 (five).
Indeed, Villa have won their last two Premier League away games against Chelsea, as many as in their previous 21 visits to Stamford Bridge (D4 L15). They last won three consecutive away league games against the Blues between 1930 and 1933.
However, Opta's supercomputer still makes the Blues the favourites.
Villa are winless in their last four Premier League games (D2 L2). They last went five without a win between May and August 2022, while they last did so in the same season in March/April 2022 (both runs under Steven Gerrard).
Chelsea have conceded at least once in all six of their Premier League home games this season – they last had a longer wait for a home clean sheet from the start of a league campaign in 1978-79 (nine games).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Chelsea - 52%
Aston Villa - 25.2%
Draw - 22.8%
Postecoglou frustrated by profligate Tottenham in Roma draw
Ange Postecoglou rued a lack of composure from his Tottenham side as they conceded a "frustrating" late equaliser to Roma in a 2-2 Europa League draw on Thursday.
Spurs twice led at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Son Heung-min's fifth-minute penalty cancelled out by Evan Ndicka.
Mats Hummels then netted in second-half injury time after Brennan Johnson had put the hosts back in front in the 33rd minute.
It means Tottenham are now outside the top eight in the Europa League standings on goal difference and boss Postecoglou was disappointed not to see the job out.
Speaking to TNT Sports, he said: "It's frustrating, particularly when they score so late in the game.
"But it was a good game. We should have put it to bed early, and it's disappointing not to see it through.
"We should have shown a bit more composure. We had a couple of chances cleared off the line. We sort of kept them in the game."
"They are a good side. There is a reason why they are in the Europa League. They had a great season last time, but they have had some tough times this year.
"They have quality players, but we had the chance to win the game."
Tottenham failed to win a home group stage match in the Europa League for the first time since October 2014 (1-1 vs Besiktas), having won 10 consecutive such games prior to Thursday's draw.
Fraser Forster was called upon in goal after the news this week that number one Guglielmo Vicario is out for an extended period with a fractured ankle.
And Postecoglou praised the role played by his experienced back-up goalkeeper, who made five saves during the contest.
"He did well. We expect that from him. He is a very experienced goalkeeper, and he did his part," Postecoglou added.
But Postecoglou was quick to praise Roma's performance, despite seeing his side dominate the majority of the match statistics at the full-time whistle.
Spurs managed an expected goals (xG) total of 3.61 from their 24 attempts compared to the Serie A sides' 2.36 from their 18 shots.
"They are a good side. There is a reason why they are in the Europa League," Postecoglou concluded.
"They had a great season last time, but they have had some tough times this year. They had quality players, but we had the chance to win the game."
Tottenham turn their attention to Premier League action when they return to home soil to take on London rivals Fulham, a side they have lost just one of their last 14 top-flight home games against (W10 D3).
Clement lauds Rangers' 'best performance of the season' against Nice
Philippe Clement believes his Rangers side produced their "best performance of the season" in the 4-1 thrashing of Nice in the Europa League on Thursday.
Rangers stunned the Ligue 1 outfit with three first-half strikes as Vaclav Cerny, Mohamed Diomande and Hamza Igamane took advantage of some poor defending by the hosts.
Igamane notched his second of the game nine minutes after the restart, with the hosts pulling a goal back in the 83rd minute courtesy of Badredine Bouanani's stunning free-kick.
The result moved Rangers up to eighth in the 36-team standings, leapfrogging Tottenham into the automatic spots late on thanks to Mats Hummels' equaliser for Roma.
They also scored four or more goals in an away major European game for just the eighth time, with this the first time they’d done so since a 4-2 win at Borussia Dortmund 2022.
"We did big performances in Bucharest and Malmo too but knowing the level of this this is probably the best performance of the season. The season is still young," Clement said.
"Young squad, new players, many on the pitch today who have not been at the club for long. We have become stronger and stronger."
Clement showered praise on two-goal Igamane, who impressed on his first start in the competition with top scorer Cyriel Dessers dropped to the bench.
The Moroccan grabbed the assist for Cerny's opener, while he also ended the contest with the most touches in the opposition box (eight) along with creating more chances (three) than any of his team-mates.
"He came in with an injury and missed preparation. He doesn't have experience at this level," Clement added.
"We're working hard with him to make him stronger but also technically doing the right things for the team.
"I saw the good things the last few weeks and that's why I gave him the chance today.
"It's my job to give chances and see what the player can bring but you never know with young players. You need characters, you can't be affected by the big occasion."
Rangers' attention now turns to the Scottish Premiership, aiming to bounce back from their 1-1 draw with Dundee United last time out.
Clement's side find themselves third in the table, 11 points behind rivals Celtic, and the Rangers boss believes their win over Nice can be the catalyst for their domestic campaign.
"We need to win. That's clear. We need to perform well on Sunday, but also on Wednesday and then at the weekend again.
"I don't want to see players in satisfaction mode, I want to see hungry players who want to be better and better."
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