Glenmuir High overcame a two-goal deficit to defeat Frome Technical 4-3 in a thrilling Group A quarterfinal clash that will be remembered as one of the most exciting matches of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Wata daCosta Cup season.

It was an intense display of grit, determination, and skill by Glenmuir as they battled back from 3-1 down, with prolific scorer Orane Watson netting a hat-trick to see them to victory in May Pen, Clarendon, on Saturday.

Watson’s goals, which came in the 47th, 64th, and 79th, extended his remarkable tally to 27 goals so far this season, while Conroy Nicely (18th) got the other. Wayne Mullings (10th), Stevaughn Spence (22nd), and Clinton Beckford (43rd) got Frome Technical’s goals.

With the win, Glenmuir took charge of the group on three points, two points ahead of St Elizabeth Technical (STETHS) and McGrath, who played out a 1-1 stalemate in the other fixture.

Glenmuir’s Andrew Peart praised his players’ fighting spirit.

“That is the key thing; you have to know how to win in multiple ways and being two goals down, I must say it was a job very well done by the boys overall.

“However, I thought the first half we allowed Spence too much freedom down our left channel because when they won the ball, they played direct and that was the biggest adjustments we made second half and then we secured possession of the ball a little more and those two things propelled us to the win,” Peart said in a post-game interview.

Frome Technical came into the match ready to prove their mettle and quickly displayed their attacking prowess and found the go-ahead goal when captain Mullings expertly converted a freekick from just outside the 18-yard box.

Glenmuir belatedly got into their stride and were back on leveled terms eight minutes later when O’neil Headly’s well-weighted corner kick was nicely headed home by an unmarked Nicely at the far post.

However, Glenmuir’s celebration was short-lived as the talented and classy Spence restored Frome Technical’s lead with a well-struck breathtaking freekick from well over 25 yards out that had custodian Justin Murray beaten all ends up.

After registering his 20th goal of the season, Spence played provider with a dazzling turn and pass off to Beckford, who finished with aplomb to add to Glenmuir’s woes, as Frome Technical went to the break 3-1 up.

However, Glenmuir’s squad refused to play dead and quickly cut the deficit two minutes into the resumption when Watson fired home.

The standout player, sporting the number nine jersey, ignited the comeback with a relentless drive and pulled Glenmuir level with a composed penalty conversion.

A heavy downpour then added to the drama, but rather than dampen the intensity, the rain only seemed to fuel Glenmuir’s resolve and Watson inevitably sealed his hat-trick and, by extension, the comeback when he lashed home from another weighted pass from Headly.

Spence almost made things interesting for Frome Technical at the end but Murray left his line well to deny the effort in time added.

Frome Technical’s Head coach, Cleighton Stephens, was disappointed with the loss, which he believes resulted from a lapse in concentration.

“I would say it came down to a lack of concentration because as you saw most of the goals that Glenmuir scored we basically didn’t use our head in the game so basically our mistakes cost us the game. We just didn’t adjust fast enough to the conditions when the rain came and we ended up paying for it,” Stephens said.

Saturday’s Results

Garvey Maceo 2, Central High 2

Glenmuir 4, Frome Technical 3

McGrath High 1, STETHS 1