Shaquille Cairo scored a pair of goals to lead 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Club Shield winners Robinhood of Suriname to a 2-0 victory against Jamaican side Dunbeholden in Group B action of the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup at Sabina Park on Thursday.
Robinhood now sit atop the group with six points after two games, while Dunbeholden have one point after three matches.
Robinhood raced out to an early 1-0 lead in the 15th when they were able to take advantage of a defensive error from Dunbeholden. The home side failed to clear their lines adequately and a deflected ball up into the air right in front of goal was headed into net by Shaquille Cairo.
Dunbeholden went right to work on finding an equalizer and Stephen Barnett looked poised to do it in the 25th, only for Robinhood goalkeeper Jonathan Fonkel to make a sensational stretch save.
Odane Samuels was next to be turned away on a brilliant save by Jonathan Fonkel, this time on a shot from just a few yards out that the visiting shot-stopper somehow managed to parry to safety in the 34th.
Robinhood absorbed Dunbeholden’s punches and then landed another big blow in the 55th when a cross from Tuur Don met the charging Cairo, who fired into net for a 2-0 Robinhood lead.
The Robinhood defense took over after that, nailing things down to record the clean sheet victory.
Shaniel Thomas notched a hat-trick to help Jamaican club Cavalier take a big step toward the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Club semifinals with a 3-0 victory on Tuesday night against Moca of the Dominican Republic in Group A action at Sabina Park.
With the win, Cavalier now sit atop the group with seven points through three matches, while Moca remain in third place with three points after two games.
Thomas's hat-trick, which is the first in Caribbean Cup history, propelled him to the top of the tournament goalscoring leaderboard with four goals.
It was a fairly even start between the two sides, but midway through the first 45 minutes, in the 24th, Cavalier were able to break the deadlock through Thomas.
A long ball was hoofed up the left flank for Makenson Cadet, who ran onto it and then chipped over a defender, allowing Thomas to meet the ball with a powerful header into net and a 1-0 Cavalier advantage.
Cavalier kept their foot on the gas and a swinging right-footed effort from Nicholas Hamilton in the 49th that curled just wide was the next big look at goal for the hosts.
Another chance would come for Cavalier in the 58th and they made the most of it when the Moca defence failed to clear their lines and Thomas was all too happy to take a simple back pass and hammer in a shot from a few yards out to double the lead to 2-0.
Thomas wasn’t done, and a minute after, he was brought down by Moca defender Manuel Vidal in the area, the Cavalier frontman smashed home a penalty in the 77th to nail down his hat-trick and the 3-0 Cavalier victory.
Though welcoming the 2-1 win which puts his team in a handy position heading into a break, Cavalier’s Technical Director Rudolph Speid was far from satisfied with his team’s overall execution in a lukewarm Concacaf Caribbean Cup against AC Port of Spain at Sabina Park on Thursday.
In fact, Speid believes the time off augurs well for the Jamaican outfit currently going through a rebuilding phase, as they intend to use it to good effect to improve certain aspects of their game.
While Jalmaro Calvin (8th) and Christopher Ainsworth (60th) got the goals for Cavalier, Port of Spain seemed the more dominant team at one point, but for their faulty shooting and some good glove work by Vino Barclett in goal for Cavalier at times.
However, the Trinidad and Tobago team ended with some consolation, courtesy of captain Duane Muckette’s 71st-minute strike.
With the win, Cavalier, who drew their opening contest 1-1 with another Trinidad and Tobago outfit Defence Force, assumed pole position in Group A on four points. Defence Force, who defeated Golden Lion of Martinique 1-0 on Wednesday, also moved to four points, but are second with an inferior goal difference.
Dominican Republic representative Moca FC are third on three points, with Golden Lion and Port of Spain, still without a point.
Speid agreed as much that his players lacked fitness and their drop in performance at certain points in the game, could have proved costly.
“It’s a new team and we’re trying to rebuild, but it’s three points and we were able to get them. This is our second game of the season, so you have to give and take. We’re not pleased, but we have another match on (September 19th) and we’ll put in some work to that end,” Speid said in a post-game press conference.
“We were doing some things wrong, but then in the second half, we kind of fixed it, but it’s a long road. We’re happy for the break so we’ll move on and get better as we progress,” he added.
After Calvin fired home from a Ronaldo Robinson assist, Cavalier, instead of pressing home the early ascendancy, opted to sit back and absorb consistent pressure, forcing their St Lucian goalkeeper Barclett to do more than he would have hoped.
In the 15th minute, Port of Spain’s midfielder John Paul Rochford was allowed space and time on the ball to get a right-footed shot off from a distance which was parried by Barclett diving full stretch to his left.
Cavalier again rode their luck in the 26th minute when defender Jeovanni Laing was dispossessed deep inside their quarters, paving the way for Che Benny to test his accuracy with a clever effort that kissed the crossbar on its way out.
Port of Spain again went close to pulling level on the stroke of the half-time interval, but Barclett again came up big with reflex save to deny Tyrone Charles, who twirled his way around two defenders to make space for the right-footed shot.
Things were a bit more balanced on the resumption, as Cavalier again showed life on the attacking front and caused a few problems for their Trinidadian counterparts.
But it wasn’t until the hour-mark that they extended the lead from a well-worked counterattacking play. It was orchestrated by Calvin, who picked out an unmarked Ainsworth at the top of the 18-yard box and the young player, sporting the number 11 jersey, maintained his composure to put a left-footed effort beyond Marvin Phillip in goal for Port of Spain.
Down, but not out, Port of Spain fought on bravely and pulled one back through Muckette, who expertly headed past the well-advanced Barclett, who was left in no-man’s land.
Port of Spain’s Head Coach Walter Noriega also rued his team’s sub-par display.
“It’s a disappointing result. I think the boys didn’t execute in the attacking play because we dominated possession, but possession doesn’t win you games. We’ll work on the finishing part and the execution,” he shared.
For their next assignments, Cavalier will play host to Moca on Tuesday, September 19, while Port of Spain will host Golden Lion a day prior.
Panama booked their spot in the CONCACAF Under-17 Women’s Championship by securing a 1-0 victory over hosts Jamaica in their qualifying fixture at Sabina Park in Kingston on Sunday.
Due to the withdrawals of Anguilla and Grenada from qualifying Group E, Jamaica and Panama played a pair of fixtures on Friday and Sunday to determine who would progress to the main tournament set for next year.
The teams played out a 1-1 draw at the same venue on Friday before the Panamanians came out on top on Sunday.
Panama’s goal on Sunday came through Analia Arosemena seven minutes before halftime.
Panama got to the Round of 16 at last year's tournament while Jamaica made it to the quarterfinals.
Head coach of Jamaica’s Under-17 Reggae Girlz, Hugh Bradford, says his team is ready ahead of their first game of the Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship Qualifiers.
The young Reggae Girlz will tackle Anguilla at Sabina Park on Saturday before taking on Grenada on the 28th and Panama on the 30th at the same venue. All three games start at 6:00pm Jamaica time.
Bradford says the team is as ready as they can be with the time they’ve had to prepare for the fixtures.
“They are as ready as they are going to be with the time we have to train,” Bradford told SportsMax.tv.
“I saw progress in being with them through the week but that’s the time we had so that’s as ready as we are,” he added.
When questioned about the style of play his coaching staff would like to see from the girls, Bradford preferred a possession-based approach.
“We would like to see them possess the ball and keep it going from our end to the other end. We would like them to be able to move the ball around and be in control of the tempo of the game,” he said.
Getting through these qualifiers is the first step for the team to match what they were able to achieve in last year’s Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship where they got all the way to the quarterfinals before losing 0-4 to eventual champions, USA.
Bradford was not with that group but his hope is that they can at least match what was done in 2022.
“My hope is that we keep making it through the rounds,” he said.
Jamaica’s senior Reggae Girlz made history at the recently concluded FIFA Women’s World Cup where they became the first Caribbean team to advance to the Round of 16 before losing 0-1 to Colombia.
“Absolutely,” was Bradford’s response to whether or not his team was inspired by the exploits of their senior counterparts.
“They were very excited to watch the senior team play and so I’m sure they’re coming out wanting to do something similar but football is funny so you have to see how things go but they are definitely inspired by them,” he added.
Jamaica will be in Group E of the qualifiers alongside the aforementioned Grenada, Anguilla and Panama. The winners of the group will advance to the 2024 Concacaf Under-17 Women’s Championship.
Since 1930, Sabina Park has hosted a total of 101 international matches. Only Trinidad & Tobago’s Queen’s Park Oval with 139 and Barbados’ Kensington Oval with 123 have hosted more.
Sabina Park hasn’t hosted international cricket since the West Indies took on Ireland in three ODIs in January last year.
Taking it a step further, the ground hasn’t hosted any regional cricket since 2019. That year was also the last time Sabina Park hosted a Caribbean Premier League (CPL) game.
In an appearance on the Mason & Guest radio show on Tuesday, former Jamaica and West Indies off spinner, Nehemiah Perry, said that while local cricket is being played at the ground from time to time, the lack of international matches is concerning.
“We still have our local cricket and we’re having some Dream 11 T10 games coming up there but the real issue is that there is no international cricket being played at Sabina Park,” Perry said.
“I remember the days gone when we were talking about a Test series coming to the Caribbean, there were some grounds that you knew were going to get games like Sabina Park, Kensington Oval, Queen’s Park Oval etc. For about two years now, we haven’t had any international cricket at Sabina Park. We also haven’t had any regional cricket there for some time now,” he added.
As of late, the ground has been used mainly as a venue for hosting parties as well as football matches. For the last few years, it has served as the host for finals in competitions like the Jamaica Premier League, Manning Cup and ISSA Champions Cup to name a few.
“It has been turned into a place of parties and football. We need income to maintain the field and Kingston Cricket Club because that club is really the owner of Sabina Park and the JCA owns the stands,” he said.
“When you don’t get international cricket, there’s no revenue coming in from the ground because there’s no advertising. Members of the Kingston Cricket Club are leaving because there’s nothing happening at Sabina Park and I’m very concerned,” he added.
With the T20 World Cup coming to the West Indies next year, Senior Manager of Cricket West Indies, Roland Holder, neither confirmed nor denied whether or not Jamaica have made a bid to host any matches at the tournament.
He did, however, say that “every venue is under consideration.”
“I believe the bids are all in and a determination is being made as we speak as to who gets what and the various packages etc. I’m not intimately involved in the World Cup so I can’t say too much about it, apart from that it’s next year,” Holder said.
Millions of dollars were invested to establish Mount Pleasant Football Academy in 2016 with hopes that it would one day become the standard bearer of Jamaica's football.
Two years later in 2018, Mount Pleasant secured promotion to the nation’s top-flight league and five years later, the wait by fans in the garden parish of St Ann for a Jamaica Premier League (JPL) title, came to an end.
A brace by Sue Lae McCalla in the 7th and 89th minutes, saw Mount Pleasant to its first national championship, as they edged Cavalier Football Club 2-1 in a keenly contested final at Sabina Park on Sunday.
Collin Anderson had earlier pulled Cavalier level in the 83rd minute with his 20th goal of the season, becoming the first player to record such a tally since Reno's Craig Foster in the 2014-15 season.
McCalla, who also won a JPL title at Portmore United, jokingly told a member of the coaching staff ahead of the game that he would score two goals, one at either end of the park, and it indeed proved most prophetic.
As such, of the 24 goals scored in his Premier League career, the 30-year-old said none was more important than the two on the night.
"Before the game I told the masseuse that I had two goals to score, one in the top goal and one at the other end so it was destined to happen. I came out here to lead by example and win my team the title, so this means a lot and will go down as part of my legacy," McCalla, who wore the captain’s armband for 65 minutes plus, said in a post-game interview.
With the first title now in hand owner Peter Goule displaying the spending power to further improve a team that drafted a number of the country's best players over the years, Head coach Theodore "Tappa" Whitmore believes this could mark the start of many more JPL honours to come.
"Words can't explain the feeling at the moment, we set out on a journey, and we have completed that journey now with a win and I am very proud of the work done by everyone from the players to the support staff and management," the former Reggae Boyz captain said.
"It was a tough season, we went through a lot, the road wasn't easy, but we made the necessary adjustments along the way, and we finally did it this afternoon. The support of the Goules is very important to our charge and this is just the beginning of lots more trophies to come," Whitmore added.
The showpiece promised much between two teams of some quality, and it didn't disappoint the well over 10,000 fans, many of whom journeyed from St Ann.
So, it was only right that Mount Pleasant gave them something to cheer about and McCalla sent them into frenzy when he firmly headed Devonte Campbell's weighted corner past Vino Barclett.
Mount Pleasant lost inspirational captain Ladale Richie to injury in the 25th minute, but it mattered little as his teammates gallantly fought on to add to their tally.
They should have done so on a number of occasions, but a lack of proper positioning and poor decision-making at times, denied them at that point.
In the 32nd minute, Devonte Campbell rounded the well-advanced Barclett in a blistering counterattack, but failed to get a proper cross in with Trivante Stewart and Kimonie Bailey waiting in the six-yard box.
Four minutes later Stewart dazzled his marker with some nippy footwork and made space for a cross which went begging, as none of his teammates were on hand to apply the finish at the far post.
Cavalier had the best of their few looks at goal in the 37th minute later when Nickache Murray's delightful pass inside the danger area found an unmarked Jerome McCleary, who failed to make it count.
And Stewart got away from defenders but had his delayed effort charged down by Barclett, who left his line well on that occasion to ensure it remained 1-0 at the break.
The second half offered very little to write home about, but just when it seems it was done and dusted for Mount Pleasant, Anderson popped up with a timely goalmouth finish that threatened extra time.
However, it was not to be, as cometh the hour, cometh McCalla, who again rose highest to expertly head past Barclett from Ricardo Morris's corner a minute from time.
While the relief for the Mount Pleasant camp was unmistakable as they were flocked by jubilant fans that invaded the Sabina Park field, the disappointment of Cavalier's Head coach Rudolph Speid and his players, was clear for all to see.
“I thought it if we had gone to extra time we would have taken over because they were making a lot of changes and their quality was going down. But two headed goals by Sue Lae McCalla, I wouldn’t have dreamed that would have happened and it is unfortunate that we couldn’t hold on for the extra time,” Speid said.
Mount Pleasant Football Academy and Cavalier Football Club will meet in this season’s Jamaica Premier League (JPL) final, following victories over Arnett Gardens and dethroned champions Harbour View in their respective second-leg semi-final encounters at Sabina Park on Sunday.
The St Ann-based Mount Pleasant FA, which was formed in 2016 and earned promotion to the nation’s top-flight league in 2018, got by Arnett Gardens 3-1 for a 5-3 aggregate win to secure their spot in the JPL showpiece for the first time, while 2021 champions Cavalier blanked Harbour View 2-0 for a 3-0 aggregate scoreline.
Trivante Stewart with goals in the 33rd and 40th minutes, that took his tally to 18 this season, and one Shande James (86th), got the job done for Mount Pleasant, after Deandre Cunningham gave Arnett Gardens a 15th-minute lead.
Meanwhile, Collin Anderson (12th and 57th) got both goals for Cavalier against Harbour View, to regain top spot as the league’s leading scorer with 19 goals.
After playing out an entertaining 2-2 stalemate in first-leg action last week, Mount Pleasant and Arnett Gardens wasted little time to pick up from where they left off.
While the Theodore “Tappa” Whitmore-coached Mount Pleasant dominated proceedings, it was the Paul “Tegat” Davis-conditioned Arnett Gardens that drew first blood, against the run of play.
Cunningham picked up a pass from Rushike Kelson and rifled a right-footer past Shaquan Davis in goal for Mount Pleasant.
Given the nature of the game, it was almost certain that Mount Pleasant would hit back and that they did three minutes past the half-hour mark when Stewart muscled his way past a defender to fire past Eric Edwards.
And Mount Pleasant broke the deadlock seven minutes later when Stewart with a deft first touch, created space to turn and drive a well-struck effort that gave Edwards no chance at a save.
The momentum stuck with Mount Pleasant on the resumption, and they should have extended their lead in the 71st but Devonte Campbell, who had time and space in the 18-yard box to pick a spot, failed to finish off a good team build up.
Try as they did, Arnett Gardens had no response to the quality displayed by Mount Pleasant on the day, and almost as if throwing salt in their wounds, it was a former “Junglists” James that capped the win with a tidy finish from just inside the arc.
Winning coach Whitmore lauded the character shown by his team in executing accordingly.
“We were totally in control of the game; we managed the game very well the opponents scored on us but the team showed character and guts and went on to win it. We played this Arnett Gardens team four times, so we looked at their threats and we nullified that, it is just about going into the final now to deliver a title to our owner,” Whitmore said.
His counterpart Davis admitted that they were outclassed.
“They just played a better game than us and they won. We just didn’t come out and play, they were quicker to the ball, their ball movements were better, and they won,” Davis declared.
Cavalier entered their second leg contest with a 1-0 lead over Harbour View and given the defensive nature of both teams, not many goals were expected on this occasion.
With Harbour View pressing to play catch up, Cavalier capitalized and pushed further ahead when Anderson rose above defender to head home Adrian Reid’s weighted cross.
With the scoreline unchanged at the break, Harbour View came out more purposeful after the interval and almost pulled on back, but Vino Barclett got down well to his right, to keep out Colorado Murray’s 56th-minute effort from a distance.
But Cavalier responded a minute late with a brisk counterattack that saw Shaneil Thomas playing Anderson through on goal, and the striker sporting the number nine jersey, dismissed his marker, before driving past Romario Palma in goal for Harbour View.
Harbour View tried to play their game in an attempt to overturn the deficit, but it was not to be as they found Cavaliers defenders in defiant mode.
Cavalier Football Club’s Head coach Rudolph Speid says his team has no intentions of resting on their laurels, after edging reigning champions Harbour View 1-0, in the first leg of their Jamaica Premier League (JPL) semi-final tie at Sabina Park on Monday.
Orlando Russell’s second goal against Harbour View and third overall this season, proved the all-important strike that handed Speid’s youthful team the advantage ahead of Sunday’s return-leg at the same venue.
“What we tried to do was not to concede any goals and take what we got and that is what happened. But I think we need one or two more goals to be safe and so we will be pushing for that in the next game,” Speid said.
After playing out a goalless first half where both teams had their moments, Cavalier found the go-ahead goal seven minutes after the interval through a well-worked build up orchestrated by Nickache Murray.
Murray floated a delicate pass over the top, which was headed across by Jerome McCleary for Orlando Russell to apply the finishing touch at the far post.
Harbour View came close to pulling level in the 62nd minute, but Cristojaye Daley’s well-struck left-footed drive from a distance, was equally well-saved by Vino Barclett, diving full-stretch to his right, in goal for Cavalier.
Cavalier could have extended their lead in the latter stages when the league’s leading scorer Collin Anderson got away from Harbour View’s defenders but fired a right-footed effort straight at goalkeeper Romario Palma, despite having enough space and time to set and shoot.
For Harbour View’s Head coach Ludlow Bernard, its back to the training pitch to assess their mistakes and make the necessary adjustments for the second leg.
“We ran out of ideas up top and so we paid the price for it. We didn’t capitalize on what was probably a tired Cavalier team, but we have some things that we clearly need to look because we are now under one-nil, so we just have to reset and come again,” Bernard stated.
Meanwhile, the second semi-final between Arnett Gardens and Mount Pleasant remain evenly poised, as they played out an entertaining 2-2 stalemate in a game that ensured the large crowd did not leave disappointed.
The inform Leonardo Rankin (17th) and Trivante Stewart (63rd), got the goals for the St Ann-based Mount Pleasant, who went in front twice, but Shai Smith (30th) and Fabian Reid (66th), ensured Arnett Gardens, remained in contention.
It was mostly end-to-end action from the start, but it was Mount Pleasant that drew first blood when Rankin deflected Demario Phillips’s weighted corner kick past Eric Edwards in goal for Arnett Gardens.
However, the “Junglists” were back on level terms 13 minutes later when Ajuma Johnson’s weighted cross found the head of the rangy Smith, who made no mistakes in guiding past Shaquan Davis.
As the score remained unchanged at the break, both teams against came out firing on the resumption, throwing their weight in attack, but again, it was Mount Pleasant that found the go-ahead goal three minutes past the hour mark.
Stewart outsprinted two defenders before squeezing a right-footer past the advancing Edwards to register his 16th goal this season.
But the celebrations were short-lived, as Reid also registered his 16th goal of the season when he utilized a cheeky first touch to create space for a right-footed drive that had Davis well beaten.
Both teams continued to create chances and could have secured the advantage, but for a lack of composure in the final third.
Still, both Paul “Tegat” Davis of Arnett Gardens and his counterpart Theodore “Tappa” Whitmore, agreed that it was a fair result, as it is anybody’s game come Sunday.
From 2008-2012, Jamaica dominated red-ball cricket in the Caribbean, winning five consecutive Regional Four-Day titles. This feels like centuries ago.
In the recently concluded 2022/23 season of the West Indies Championship, the Scorpions failed to win a single game, finishing last with 25.6 points after recording four losses and a draw in five matches. This was following a fifth-place finish in the 2021-22 season.
The team was especially poor with the bat, scoring the second-lowest amount of runs in total in the season with 1803.
Individually, only two batsmen, Abhijai Mansingh with 248 and Leroy Lugg with 217, scored over 200 runs for the Scorpions. To put it in perspective, Alick Athanaze of the Windward Islands Hurricanes finished as top run-scorer with 647, 182 more runs than Jamaica’s two highest run-scorers combined.
It begs the question, what on earth has happened to the Scorpions batting in the longer format of the game?
“Aggression without proper selection and lack of a desire to bat long are two things that jumped out at me,” Jamaica Cricket Association CEO Courtney Francis told SportsMax.TV.
“The pride of playing for country, I am not seeing it. Even in dialogue with them, I don’t think they have an appreciation for what the sport has done for us as a people,” Francis added.
The Scorpions did start the year well, however, by winning the Regional Super50, their first since 2012 but, as Francis explains, that may have been detrimental to their hopes in the longer format.
“A significant number of the players who played that tournament were unavailable to play the 4-day tournament. We had persons playing at the highest level or playing all over the world,” he said.
“The significant influx of white-ball cricket,” is another reason for Jamaica’s downward spiral in the red-ball game according to Francis.
“If you notice, our players aren’t batting an extended number of overs. Some games are ending with a day to spare,” Francis added.
He went further, analysing a technical flaw he saw throughout the line-up.
“It seems like whenever the ball is bouncing, our batsmen don’t seem to cope with it properly. I am very confident that they would have had enough training. They’ve had the facilities here at Sabina Park and elsewhere,” he said.
Another contributing factor highlighted by Francis is the weakness of the Island’s premier two-day competition, the Senior Cup.
“Our Senior Cup competition is not competitive enough. In the Senior Cup, when certain teams play against certain teams, you might get a competitive game which is commendable but, there are a significant number of instances where games finish within a day and we’re not going anywhere with that. The transition from Senior Cup to first-class is not it,” said Francis before offering up a potential solution to that problem.
“In my view, we need to have a tier higher than the Senior Cup. I’ve recommended that we have the best 60 players in the country playing a four-team competition. You can hold trials to see who can get up there,” Francis added.
Francis then took issue with the complacency of contracted players, noting that their desire to improve seemingly dwindled after being rewarded.
“Persons who are on contracts now seem to not want to work hard enough because the contract is set for one year. If you notice, we have 15 persons on contract and of those 15 persons, maybe 40% of them did not feature in the Super50 and/or the West Indies Championship. That is something for us to take a different look at,” Francis said
“We can understand that persons are contracted from July so people may lose form and others come in for pay-for-play and stuff but that percentage is too high.
As selectors, coaches and administrators we have to come up with a different mechanism to ensure that we do not waste money. If you look at the numbers of a number of the players, we’re not getting a return on our investment” he added before noting that shorter term, incentive-based contracts may be the way forward to return Jamaica to winning ways in the longest format.
Jamaica College are champions of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup for the 31st time after a thrilling 8-7 penalty-shootout win over rivals St. Andrew Technical (STATHS) at Sabina Park on Friday.
The teams, meeting in the decider for the third time in the last six years, played out a tense 1-1 draw in regulation time.
JC took the lead in the 27th minute through a brilliant strike from winger Jaheem Frazer. They almost doubled that advantage ten minutes after the second half commenced when striker Maquan Aldridge rose well but headed a Tarick Ximines cross off the post.
That miss proved to be a big one as STATHS got back on level terms four minutes later when Shakeone Satchwell capitalized on a defensive error to slot home his 14th goal of the season.
With no further goals between the two heavyweights, the dreaded penalty shootout was needed to decide the champion.
JC had the worst possible start in the shootout when Romaine Blake had his penalty saved by STATHS keeper Jaheem Williams.
After that, both teams held their nerve well scoring penalties back and forth before STATHS, at this point with the score being 4-4 in the shootout, had a chance to secure their first Manning Cup crown in 35 years.
Unfortunately for them, substitute Namar Nelson blasted his penalty over the bar, meaning the shootout entered sudden death.
In sudden death, each team converted their first three kicks before Rashaun Frankson became the second STATHS kicker to blast over, giving JC an 8-7 win and a 31st hold on the crown.
Earlier at Sabina Park, Tivoli Gardens High School won their fifth Walker Cup title and first since 2005 after their own 5-4 penalty-shootout win over Haile Selassie High.
Tivoli took the lead when Captain Daniel Watson scored from a close-range header in the 35th minute before Joshua Dewar got Haile Selassie’s equalizer in the 49th minute.
In the resulting penalty-shootout, both teams converted their first four spot kicks before Haile Selassie substitute Tyreece Francis had his kick saved by keeper Shakur Adair.
St. Mary defeated St Elizabeth by seven wickets (D/L) to get their hands on the Kingston Wharves U15 Cricket Competition for the first time on Thursday at Sabina Park in Kingston.
St. Elizabeth was bowled out for 113 all in 31.5 overs in the low-scoring affair. The weather then intervened and based on the Duckworth/Lewis method, St. Mary only had to make 75 in 33 overs to win the match and they duly obliged.
Five of St. Elizabeth's players got into double figures but failed to capitalize. Jayden Shaw, 14; Adrian Silvera, 12; Shaaairi Jadoo, 12; Dimitri Binns, 11; and Odane Binns, 10; were the principal scorers but they were all outdone by 36 extras conceded by St. Mary.
Jevaughny Brown took 5-33 while Tedain Noyan, 2-18 and Dijon Taylor 2-20 were decisive in support.
St Elizabeth conceded 11 extras before any of St. Mary's batsmen got a run on the board as the bowlers struggled in the damp conditions.
They would eventually concede 31, making life that much easier for St Mary’s batters.
Opener Tyreece Saunders, 12, and Jevaughny Shim, 13, led the scoring for the victors.
Jahliel Smith, Adiran Silvera and Demitri Binns each took a wicket for St Elizabeth.
St. Mary's Jevaughny Shim took home several awards; Most Wickets (23), MVP for St. Mary and final MVP for his five wickets for 33 and top score of 13.
“It’s been a very good competition, I have seen some good performances (and) I tell myself that I did well and I am looking forward to next year to start playing again," he said afterwards.
St. Elizabeth's Kevaun Brown, who scored 330 runs during the competition including a top score of 129, won the award for most runs scored. He was also named the MVP for St. Elizabeth with 16 wickets along with his 330 runs.
David Dewar, the captain of Kensington Cricket Club was the best wicketkeeper in the competition with nine dismissals that included four stumpings.
Cricket Operations Manager at the Jamaica Cricket Association Oneil Cruickshank was pleased with the running of the tournament.
"It went much better than we expected,” he said.
“The performances that we saw coming out of this competition were very heart-warming. We thought it may have been less but we saw a youngster scoring over 300 runs, one youngster taking over 23 wickets, and one young lady making a century. When we put it all together it was a fantastic tournament.”
Simone Murdock, Corporate Services and Client Experience Manager at Kingston Wharves was also pleased.
"Today's winner St. Mary is proof that we are moving the needle because it's St. Mary's first time with the trophy and we are so glad for them. We are also celebrating with St. Elizabeth who is a consistent performer," she said.
New Zealand batsman Glenn Phillips struck a magnificent half century to underpin a record 215 and series win against the West Indies at Sabina Park, in Jamaica, on Friday.
Phillips, who played several years for the country’s Jamaica Tallawahs franchise in the CPL, looked right at home as he blasted 76 from 31 deliveries. The batsman was aided in the carnage by Daryl Mitchell who made 48 from 20 as the pair put on 83 for the fourth wicket.
No Windies bowler, in particular, did well against the onslaught with Obed McKoy claiming the best bowling figures with 3 for 40.
In reply, the West Indies never looked like making a game of the run chase. They managed just 125 for 9 in reply, lacking the partnerships that underpinned New Zealand's record innings, which was the most by a visiting team in the Caribbean.
With the top order vanishing in dizzying fashion, the Windies did not get a decent partnership until lower down the innings. The best two were 35 for the seventh wicket between Romario Shepherd and Rovman Powell, but that came when the Windies were 40 for 6 and well out of the game. Hayden Walsh and Obed McCoy put on 38 in an unbroken stand for the last wicket.
Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell did the damage for New Zealand with the ball, both finishing with 3 for 15.
The Surrey Royals were crowned champions of the inaugural Dream 11 Jamaica T10 tournament after securing a four-wicket win over the Surrey Kings, at Sabina Park, in Kingston on Thursday.
The Kings got to a competitive 110-7 after the Royals won the toss and elected to field first.
That total would’ve been a lot different without a crucial 52 off 32 balls from opener Kennar Lewis.
The Jamaica Tallawahs opener’s innings included one four and five sixes.
Pete Salmon (2-17), Raewin Senior (2-14), and Ryan Francis (2-29) were the best bowlers for the Royals.
The Royals reply looked in bad shape at 63-4 off 5.4 overs before an enterprising knock of 37, off just 14 balls, from Carlos Brown left them needing 18 runs from 17 balls for victory at the time of his dismissal in the eighth over.
Salmon (21 not out) and Jamie Hay (6 not out) then held their nerve to carry the Royals over the line at 114-6 off 9.1 overs.
Leroy Lugg (21) and Romaine Morris (15) also contributed with the bat for the champions, while Andre Dennis with 2-25 was the most successful bowler for the Kings.
The Surrey Kings and Surrey Royals will contest the final of the inaugural Dream 11 Jamaica T10 tournament after the league stage of the competition came to an end at Sabina Park in Kingston on Tuesday.
The day started with the Kings losing to the Middlesex United Stars in a super over.
The United Stars win the toss and elected to field first, restricting the Kings, albeit with a number of changes to their team, to 85-7 off their 10 overs with Kenroy Williams (22) and Xavier Burton (17) being the main scorers.
Tyrone Daley was the pick of the bowlers for the United Stars with 2-14 from his two overs.
Top scores of 38 not out from captain and West Indies opener John Campbell and 21 from Jamaica Scorpions all-rounder Alwyn Williams then allowed the United Stars to match the Kings total reaching 85-6 off 10 overs.
The same pair along with Daley then combined to post 13-1 in the super over before Ojay Shields restricted the Kings pair of Jeavor Royal and Brad Barnes to eight without loss to secure the win.
The Surrey Royals got the better of the Cornwall Warriors in the second match of the day by nine wickets.
The Royals restricted the Warriors to 86-6 off their 10 overs after winning the toss and choosing to field first.
Captain Damian Ebanks (25), Damion Bryce (21 not out) and Kerry Holness (18) were the main contributors for the Warriors against an excellent 2-8 off two overs from Jamaica Scorpions pacer Nicholson Gordon.
The Royals then successfully got to 87-1 off 8.1 overs thanks to 61 not out off 29 balls from wicketkeeper/batsman Romaine Morris.
With the league stage now completed, Wednesday will see the Cornwall Warriors and the Surrey Risers contest the fifth-place playoff, while the third-place playoff will be an all-Middlesex affair with the Titans taking on the United Stars before a champion is crowned on Thursday when the Surrey Royals and the Surrey Kings battle it out.
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