Glenmuir High School continues to assert their class in the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Wata daCosta Cup as they blanked Ocho Rios High 3-0 in a commanding performance in May Pen on Wednesday.

The victory, featuring goals from Orane Watson (18th), Nyron Allen (79th), and Nuemonie Blackwood (86th), extended Glenmuir’s impressive run in the competition. They sit comfortably atop the zone on six points, three points ahead of Ocho Rios and Dinthill Technical, while Happy Grove remains pointless, heading into Saturday’s final round of games.

Coach Andrew Peart praised his team’s discipline as they reinforced their status as serious contenders in this year’s daCosta Cup.

“It was a very controlled performance, much credit to our team. Credit also goes to Ocho Rios for not allowing a lot of space; you make it through the midfield lines, but they manage to collapse, and the defenders manage to protect the center of the field pretty well. In games like these, it is always good to find ways to score, and we did that by shooting from outside the box. So it was basically us being patient and waiting for the right moments,” Peart said in a post-game interview.

From the opening whistle, Glenmuir displayed confidence and cohesion, controlling the tempo of the game with crisp passes and quick transitions against a disciplined Ocho Rios defence. They went close in the fourth minute when Brandon Wallace got on target, but his effort was blocked on the line.

Ocho Rios responded immediately after with a brisk counterattack, but Keanu Reid’s effort was charged down by a recovering defender.

Glenmuir continued to press and again when Dusting Cohen found space inside the 18-yard box for a right-footed effort, which was denied by Maleek Martin’s outstretched leg.

However, their offensive persistence paid off in the 18th minute when Watson scored his 23rd goal of the season from the penalty spot after captain Ja-Son Whyte was taken out inside the red zone.

Ocho Rios, undeterred, mounted an attempt to level the score and should have done so in the 28th, but Reid, who had a clear look on goal, fired his effort high and wide, as Glenmuir remained 1-0 up at the break.

Glenmuir picked up where they left off on the resumption and had another close shave in the 52nd when Whyte’s shot from a distance was deflected and kissed the upright on the way out.

They eventually doubled the lead in the 79th minute, when Whyte struck another shot from distance that came off Allen’s back, leaving Martin well beaten.

Ocho Rios, struggling to keep up with Glenmuir’s Blackwood’s left-footer from way out, bettered Martin at his near post four minutes from time.

Head coach Veron Peterkin acknowledged that his Ocho Rios team was outplayed on the day.

“We made some little errors here and there and it cost us the game, but to be fair, Glenmuir had the better game and came out on top. When we had our chances we just weren’t decisive enough, so it was just one of those games,” he said.

Wednesday’s results

Munro College 2, Clarendon College 1

Glenmuir 3, Ocho Rios 0

McGrath High 1, Manchester High 0

Frome Technical 1, Cornwall College 0

Central High 1, Denbigh 0