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• Reigning champs Glenmuir edge Kingston College to secure ISSA Champions Cup semifinal berth

  Defending champions Glenmuir High kept their title defence alive with a 2-1 win over Kingston College in a keenly contested ISSA Champions Cup quarterfinal clash at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Saturday.

  A late winner from substitute Nyron Allen (90+1) broke Kingston College’s hearts and sealed Glenmuir’s semifinal berth after Orane Watson’s 41st-minute goal gave the Clarendon-based team the lead. Demario Dailey (61st) found Kingston College’s goal in the encounter played in testing rainy conditions.

  Glenmuir will square off against Ocho Rios High in one semifinal, while Jamaica College and Hydel will cross swords in the other to determine the finalists.

  Winning coach Andrew Peart was pleased with how his team navigated the conditions and, by extension, a disciplined Kingston College defence.

  “We got a lot from the substitutes; throughout the game we were always wondering how we could get a stronger foothold on the game because KC were really disciplined, but we made some adjustments to try and attack the game instead of waiting on a goal to come. So the lesson is to never give up and always fight until the end, and today was testament to that,” Peart said.

  Both teams approached the encounter with energy and intent, despite heavy rain making conditions challenging. Players struggled to maintain footing on the wet turf, but the intensity of the game never wavered.

  The breakthrough came in the 41st minute when Glenmuir’s O’Neil Headley delivered a well-placed corner to the back post. The ball was headed back across the goal, where Watson reacted quickest to fire home, giving Glenmuir a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.

  Though down, Kingston College, true to their motto, came out more purposeful on the resumption, and their persistence paid off a minute past the hour mark when Dailey unleashed a speculative shot from distance. The ball skidded off the wet surface, deceiving Glenmuir’s goalkeeper Justin Murray, who was left flat-footed as the ball nestled into the net to make it 1-1.

  The equalizer ignited the match further, with both sides creating chances. In the 66th minute, Watson broke through Kingston College’s defense, but goalkeeper Malique Williams charged off his line to make a crucial block.

  Minutes later, Watson had another opportunity, but Williams once again stood tall, denying Glenmuir’s talisman.

  Kingston College came close to taking the lead in the 81st minute when Dailey found space inside the box, but his effort hit the sidenetting, leaving the Glenmuir bench breathing a sigh of relief.

  As the game edged toward extra time, Glenmuir found a moment of brilliance as substitute Ricardo Binns orchestrated a flowing move down the right flank. His precise pass across the face of goal caught Kingston College’s defence off guard, allowing Allen to dart in ahead of his marker and fire home from close range in time added.

  Kingston College’s Head coach, Vassell Reynolds, was gracious in defeat.

  “It was a good game from both teams. We had a plan, and right down to the T, the boys executed well. It is just unfortunate that we conceded when we couldn’t get back but really proud of what the boys delivered today based on what we planned. So I am pleased with the performance but not the result,” Reynolds noted.

• Hydel book ISSA Champions Cup semifinal spot after dramatic comeback against Garvey Maceo

  Hydel High School booked a spot in the ISSA Champions Cup semifinals after they came from behind to secure a thrilling 3-2 victory over Garvey Maceo in their quarterfinal clash at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Saturday.

  Goals from Dontae Brooks (20th), D’Sean Henry (58th), and Keyanni Jackson (75th) proved decisive for Hydel, who overcame early and persistent pressure from a spirited Garvey Maceo side, led by standout performances from Omarian O’Brian (12th) and Delano Thompson (60th).

  The win ensured Hydel remained on course to lift the prestigious all-island knockout title as they joined Jamaica College and Ocho Rios High at the business end.

  Winning coach Devon Anderson praised his team’s grit and character to bounce back after falling behind early.

  “It was a workmanlike performance, we dug deep to pull off this victory. It was a hard-fought game from both teams so we went out there and did what we had to, as you can see the conditions wasn’t conducive but we don’t complain, we are always ready to deliver. We tweaked one or two things to seal a bit of loophole and the boys pulled it off,” Anderson said in a post-game interview.

  After a fairly cagey start by both teams, the contest exploded into life in the 12th minute when O’Brian made a surging run down the left channel and rifled a right-footed shot in from close range to put Garvey Maceo in front.

  Hydel, undeterred, pushed for the equaliser which they found just eight minutes later. A perfectly weighted cross from Henry found Brooks in a pocket of space, and the forward made no mistake from close range, calmly slotting home to restore parity at 1-1.

  Ronaldo Barrett tried to give Hydel the lead in the 24th minute with a speculative left-footed shot from distance, but Garvey Maceo goalkeeper Garfield Tomlinson handled it comfortably.

  From there, both teams exchanged a few half-chances for the remainder of the first half, but neither side could convert, leaving the score locked at 1-1 heading into the break.

  A sudden downpour, which came just before the break, made the pitch slippery and slowed play at the start of the second half, but the intensity on the field remained undiminished.

  In the 58th minute, Hydel seized the initiative when Jackson whipped in a pinpoint cross for Henry to head past Tomlinson and put Hydel 2-1 up.

  However, their joy was short-lived, as Garvey Maceo responded immediately after. This, as O’Brian delivered a defence-splitting pass to Thompson, who made an overlapping run and smashed the ball home to level the score once again at 2-2.

  The defining moment came in the 75th minute when Hydel launched another telling buildup in which Barrett played a clever pass back to Jackson at the edge of the six-yard box and the latter, with time and space, unleashed a clinical strike that gave Tomlinson no chance.

  Despite Garvey Maceo’s efforts to find another equaliser, Hydel’s defence held firm to seal their place in the semifinals.

  Garvey Maceo’s Head coach Lester Hibbert lauded his team’s valiant effort but rued lapses in concentration that cost them the game.

  “It was a good performance but we made some errors in the backline and that cost us the game. We just had to get used to the conditions and play some football but at the end of the day, if you make mistakes and don’t score your chances it is going to hurt you and Hydel did put away their chances,” Hibbert said.

• Captain fantastic Dyllan John delivers as 10-man JC secure gritty Champions Cup quarterfinal win over McGrath

  Jamaica College (JC) displayed resilience and determination to book their spot in the ISSA Champions Cup semifinals, as they overcame early adversity to secure a 2-0 victory over McGrath High in a lukewarm quarterfinal encounter at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Friday.

  Captain Dyllan John again proved heroic, scoring both goals for his team in the 60th and 90+2 to keep their triple crown ambitions alive, as they also have the Manning Cup semi-final to contest on Wednesday.

  Head coach Davion Ferguson praised his players fighting spirit in achieving their semi-final objective.

  “I think the referee made a very questionable call, but the boys didn’t drop their heads. At halftime we told them that this is what we have been working on, and they dug deep, pressed McGrath a little higher, and I think that’s what paid off for us at the end. So even though it was 11 versus 10, we were still even in the sense of our quality superiority, and we made it count in the second half,” Ferguson said in a post-game interview.

  His counterpart Jermaine Thomas also lauded his McGrath outfit despite their inability to capitalize on the numerical advantage.

  “I thought we played well; we just never scored. I thought we created several goal-scoring opportunities...easy ones, and we stopped them from playing through the channels and breaking the lines easy. So they were playing long balls for the entire game; it is just that we never scored the chances that we got,” Thomas said.

  The match began under dramatic circumstances as Jamaica College suffered a major setback in the 16th minute. Goalkeeper Taywane Lynch was shown a red card for what referee Christopher Mason deemed a handball, although replays and protests from Jamaica College suggested the ball had come off his chest while he was still inside his 18-yard box.

  Despite the controversy, Jamaica College were forced to play the remainder of the match with 10 men and relied on substitute goalkeeper Adriano Kitson to step into the breach.

  The numerical disadvantage did not deter the Old Hope Road boys, who reorganized defensively to keep McGrath at bay.

  Both teams created half-chances in the first half, but poor finishing, particularly from McGrath, and solid defending in parts by Jamaica College ensured the game remained goalless at the break.

  McGrath, sensing an opportunity to upset the favorites, started the second half brightly and should have broken the deadlock in the 53rd minute. However, Mason failed to pull the trigger from a promising position, and the chance went abegging.

  Four minutes later, Nashordo Gibbs tested Orlando Griffiths with a sharp effort at the near post, but the McGrath custodian was up to the task.

  John then took matters into his own hands and fired the “Dark Blues” in front at the hour mark. The talented player sporting the number seven jersey picked up possession in the attacking third, shook two defenders, and unleashed a precise right-footed strike into the far corner.

  Buoyed by the goal, Jamaica College grew in confidence, even with a man down, but McGrath continued to press, and Jimm Mitchell had his 78^th-minute effort deflected by Kitson.

  While McGrath threw everything forward in search of an equalizer, it left them vulnerable at the back, and Jamaica College capitalized as a well-timed through ball from Dontae Logan sent John racing clear, and the captain showed his class once more, slotting a composed finish past Griffiths to seal the victory.