A new champion will be crowned in the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Wata daCosta Cup as defending champions Clarendon College were knocked out at the competition following a 1-2 loss to Cornwall College in their final Round of 16 contest in May Pen on Saturday.

Deshaun Talbert (33rd) and Dante Escoffery (44th) got the goals in the consolation win for Cornwall College in Zone Two, while Nicholy Forbes pulled one back for Clarendon College in the 73rd.

The result saw both teams being eliminated from the daCosta Cup as Zone winners Munro College (seven points) and Frome Technical (five points) secured the quarterfinal spots after a goalless stalemate in the other zone contest.

Cornwall College and Clarendon College ended on three points and one point, respectively. However, both teams will have a shot at the Ben Francis knockout title.

Theodore ‘Tappa’ Whitmore was pleased with the fact that his team ended the daCosta Cup on a high.

“I think it was more the desire and commitment with which we played. The second half of the season has been lacking but they came out this afternoon and we could see the fight and commitment from the players. The Ben Francis Cup is still a trophy to play for so we are looking forward to it, but it is a game-by-game situation so we just want to get the first game out the way and then see where we go from there,” Whitmore said in a post-game interview.

Though Clarendon College had a slight chance of progressing, provided they won and Frome Technical lost, it was Cornwall College, playing for pride, that looked more purposeful from the start.

Kayvon Donaldson proved troublesome to the opponent’s defence as he got the first two warning shots off from distance, the first of which went straight at Lydel Rodney in goal for Clarendon College, while the second sailed over the crossbar.

Donaldson, sporting the number 14 jersey, continued to lead Cornwall College’s attacking line and his persistence proved rewarding when he won a penalty after being taken out inside the 18-yard box. Talbert later converted the 12-yard kick.

With Clarendon College looking deflated, Cornwall College doubled their lead when Escoffery produced a well-timed run to meet a weighted pass inside the 18-yard box and head past Rodney, who should have done better.

Clarendon College showed more life on the resumption and created a few decent opportunities, with Forbes at the forefront of each attack.

The player sporting the number nine jersey first went close in the 71st when he was played in behind defenders, but his first effort came back off the upright, while the follow-up attempt was kept out by Carlyle Tinglin in goal for Cornwall College.

Forbes again went close soon after, but again failed to beat Tinglin, who was well-positioned to stop the effort.

He inevitably hit the back of the net when he finished a rebound after substitute goalkeeper Jerome Bernard spilled the ball from Nashon Bolt’s freekick.

Clarendon College’s Head coach, Lenworth ‘Teacha’ Hyde, felt his team underperformed this season.

“We didn’t do well this season; we lost some players last year, so we are basically on a rebuilding process. We have some Under-16 players to look at to gel with these current players. So it is a rebuilding process but I think we played well today, we had possession, it is just that we are not scoring, hence we lost the game,” Hyde said.

Saturday’s results

Alphansus Davis 0, Garvey Maceo 0

Kemps Hill 0, STETHS 2

Clarendon College 1, Cornwall College 2

Frome Technical 0, Munro College 0

Ocho Rios 2, Dinthill Technical 2

Happy Grove 0, Glenmuir 1

Central High 2, McGrath 1

Manchester High 2, Denbigh High 2