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.

Hydel High will meet Mona High in the final of the ISS/Digicel Manning Cup following a 5-4 penalty shootout win over Kingston College (KC), after both teams played out a 1-1 stalemate in regulation time at Sabina Park on Friday.

Hydel found themselves 2-0 up at halftime, thanks to goals from Keyanni Jackson (3^rd) and Omario Henry (23^rd), but Kingston College fought back in the second half and managed to force the game into penalties, thanks to strikes from Damaine Smith (51^st) and Alex Hislop (70^th).

However, Hydel maintained their composure best during the shootout and converted all five 12-yard kicks, while Kingston College’s Kimani Reece had his effort saved by custodian Tajarie Lee, who was a member of the North Street-based team last season.

This will be Hydel’s second ever time contesting the urban area showpiece, following their feat in 2012, while Mona is making their first ever final. It is also the first time since 2016, a school apart from Kingston College, Jamaica College and St George’s College, will be crowned.

The final is set for Saturday December 8 at the National Stadium.

Winning coach Devon Anderson was over the moon about the accomplishment, having previously tried and failed with Holy Trinity.

“Words cannot express my feeling, as one spectator said, ‘coach you have been knocking at the door over the years.’ It is now cracked, and we intend to open it, so this is a joyous day for the Hydel family.

“Not a lot of people gave us a chance, but I believed in the boys, and they believed in what we are trying to do, and it paid off. We know Mona is a very good team, but hydel will come and do what Hydel does, grind very hard,” Anderson said in a post-game interview.

It was a frantic start by Hydel, who made their intentions clear with a few quick warning shots, before they eventually found the target in the third minute.  Jackson was allowed too much space to dribble, and he duly obliged by driving home a right-footer from about 20 yards out.

With that being Jackson’s eighth goal of the season, Henry went on the hunt for his and should have had it in the sixth minute when he executed a delightful first touch to a long pass from the back, but the finish lacked the same quality, as it sailed over the crossbar.

But Henry made amends in the 23^rd, when he rounded a defender and rifled a right-footer from an angle Malique Williams, in goal for Kingston College.

Sitting pretty on a two-goal lead, Hydel got somewhat complacent on the resumption, and paid for the drop in tempo when a poor clearance found Smith, who drove home a left-footed effort.

And Kingston College pulled level 19 minutes later through Hislop, who picked up a pass and slotted home and it took the dreaded penalty shootout to decide a winner.

Kingston College’s Head coach Vassell Reynolds was pleased with his team’s effort despite the outcome.

“We started a little too slow, which is something we spoke about before and it happened again here and we never recovered quite well, but I am proud of the boys and the way they fought to come back from two goals down and lose on penalty. We still have the semi-finals of Champions Cup, so let us hope we do better there,” Reynolds said.