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• Saints go marching in: St Catherine High to contest first-ever Manning Cup final after penalty shootout win over Jamaica College

  St Catherine High School will contest their first-ever ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup final, as they prevailed 5-3 in a dramatic penalty shootout against many-time champions Jamaica College (JC) at the National Stadium on Tuesday.

  In a semi-final game defined by determination and resilience, the teams played out a tense 1-1 draw in regulation time before the St Johns Road-based school held their nerve from 12 yards to edge past their storied opponents.

  Romaine Walters (11th) for St Catherine and Nashordo Gibbs (40th) for Jamaica College got the goals in open play.

  The victory was met with jubilation from the St Catherine camp as players, staff, and supporters celebrated their school’s historic feat, which left an almost emotional Head coach, Anthony Patrick, at a loss for words.

  

  For Patrick, it was not just a victory over one of the competition’s giants but a testament to their grit, belief, and teamwork throughout the season.

  “Words alone can’t explain how I feel. I must say kudos to the youngsters because they fought hard and dug deep. I must also laud our goalkeeper [Omarion Brown]. He came up big for us, and we know once it gets to penalties, it will work out in our favour. We asked them to stick behind the ball and force Jamaica College to play the long ball so our goalkeeper can come into play because we know once it got to penalties, it would be difficult for them,” Patrick said post-match.

  St Catherine began brightly and took an early lead in the 11th minute when Walters calmly converted a penalty after Gentles' shot struck the hand of Jamaica College’s defender Javaun Mills inside the box. The goal marked Walters’ third of the season and gave his team the momentum, despite Jamaica College dominating the early exchanges.

  However, the lead did little to deflate Jamaica College, who quickly regrouped and pushed for an equalizer. Their relentless probing eventually paid off in the 40th minute when Giovanni Taylor delivered a precise pass across the box for Nashordo Gibbs to tap home from close range.

  

  Jamaica College almost took the lead on the stroke of halftime when Gibbs broke free and crossed for Taylor, who squandered the opportunity, as the score remained unchanged at the break.

  On the resumption, Jamaica College had opportunities to win the contest but failed to find the decisive breakthrough due to a combination of faulty shooting, poor decision-making, and good glove work by Omarion Brown in goal for St Catherine.

  In fact, their best chance to steal victory came in the 87th minute when Jamoy Dennis found himself in behind the defence with time and space but somehow fired his effort wide, much to the relief of St Catherine’s supporters.

  St Catherine then delivered a flawless display from the spot, with Walters, Nathel Ellis, Dwight Gentles, Josh Reid, and Kadean Young all converting their kicks.

  Jamaica College, the tournament’s most successful team, saw Dontae Logan, Dyllan John, and Javaun Mills find the back of the net. However, the pivotal moment came when Jahmarly Bennett’s effort cannoned off the crossbar, sealing the Old Hope Road school’s fate.