Campion College all but confirmed their spot in the second round of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup competition, after clipping Ardenne High 1-0 in a lukewarm Group F contest at Winchester Park on Tuesday.

Nicholai Banton got the solitary strike courtesy of a fourth-minute penalty that ensured Campion College continued their positive run so far this season.

They remain second on 16 points, five points behind leaders St George’s College, who registered a handsome 8-2 win over third-placed Jose Marti (12 points). Fourth-placed Waterford moved up to 10 points, with a 3-0 win over cellar dwellers Pembroke Hall, who remain pointless.

While happy with the three points, Campion College’s Head coach Ashton Blankson was not entirely pleased with the performance.

This, as his team dominated possession with some colourful plays in patches but failed to really make their chances count.

In fact, Ardenne did find one of two openings from which they should have made Campion pay for their profligacy, but they too lacked composure in the final third.

“I am happy with the result, but a little disappointed with the performance. We have some young players getting used to being on TV and even in the Manning Cup, so we are proud of them, but they have some things to work on,” Blankson said in a post-game interview.

“We see players getting a lot more comfortable on the field, they are getting confident and sometimes a little bit too confident, but we are getting them to play a lot more football through our academy and it is now showing,” he added.

Ardenne’s Head coach Lloyd Terrelonge is expecting the experience and reconstruction of their football programme to come to the fore next season, as they are currently out of contention in fifth on three points.  

“We have a good training programme and a good system now putting in play, so next year we will see the fruits of that,” Terrelonge declared.

Tuesday’s results

St George’s College 7, Jose Marti 2

Campion College 1, Ardenne 0

Jamaica College 8, Cumberland 1

Charlie Smith 5, Penwood 0

Calabar 1, Kingston College 1

Jonathan Grant 0, Haile Selassie 0

Camperdown 1, Hydel 4

Waterford 3, Pembroke Hall 0