The stage is set for another thrilling chapter of schoolboy football as the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Champions Cup draw, conducted at SportsMax Studios on Tuesday, revealed a series of captivating matchups.

Chief among the fixtures to kick off this weekend’s quarterfinal round is the clash between reigning champions Glenmuir High and former champions Kingston College, as the tournament, which brings together the best from the Manning Cup and daCosta Cup competitions, promises fierce battles and a showcase of young talent.

Glenmuir High have been in impeccable form this season and are high-riding favourites to go all the way in the daCosta Cup. To begin their Champions Cup defence against Kingston College (KC) will certainly test their mettle, but they have so far displayed that they possess enough quality to overcome any challenge.

According to assistant coach Johnoy Chambers, Glenmuir, now making their fourth Champions Cup appearance, are riding high on years of developmental work.

“What we are doing at Glenmuir is just continuing the hard work we’ve been doing for the past three to four years. Being here is very important to us because the school strives to be the best both on and off the field," said Chambers.

Kingston College, a nine-time participant and winner in 2019, brings a legacy of dominance and is hungry to reclaim their place at the summit of schoolboy football.

In a historic clash, Ocho Rios High will make their second Champions Cup bow against debutants St Catherine High. Ocho Rios have been in good knick this season and will aim to continue that run of form, but St Catherine, under the stewardship of veteran coach Anthony Patrick, are determined to make an impact.

Patrick, a two-time Manning Cup-winning coach with Bridgeport, expressed pride in his team’s achievement. 

“It’s a joy for me to have a team here. We’ve been building well from preseason, and it’s now coming out on the field. We are going to give it our best shot," Patrick declared.

In another interesting clash, Hydel High will mark their fourth appearance in the Champions Cup when they face Garvey Maceo, who are no strangers to the tournament with six appearances.

Hydel, known for their resolute defence and quick transitions, will be eager to stamp their authority on the competition. However, Garvey Maceo are seasoned campaigners, and their current crop of players will look to rise to the occasion in this encounter. 

Meanwhile, Jamaica College (JC), a nine-time participant and 2022 Champions Cup winners, are peaking at the right time and, as such, will start favourites in their encounter against McGrath High, the reigning Ben Francis Cup champions.

Jamaica College’s decorated history speaks for itself, and members of Davion Ferguson’s current unit are seasoned in high-stakes matches. Still, they will be relying on tactical discipline to continue their rich history, while McGrath, buoyed by their recent cup triumph, will look to continue their upward trajectory.

Champions Cup Fixtures

Hydel High vs Garvey Maceo

Ocho Rios High vs St Catherine High

Jamaica College vs McGrath High

Glenmuir High vs Kingston College 

Glenmuir High School continues to assert their class in the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Wata daCosta Cup as they blanked Ocho Rios High 3-0 in a commanding performance in May Pen on Wednesday.

The victory, featuring goals from Orane Watson (18th), Nyron Allen (79th), and Nuemonie Blackwood (86th), extended Glenmuir’s impressive run in the competition. They sit comfortably atop the zone on six points, three points ahead of Ocho Rios and Dinthill Technical, while Happy Grove remains pointless, heading into Saturday’s final round of games.

Coach Andrew Peart praised his team’s discipline as they reinforced their status as serious contenders in this year’s daCosta Cup.

“It was a very controlled performance, much credit to our team. Credit also goes to Ocho Rios for not allowing a lot of space; you make it through the midfield lines, but they manage to collapse, and the defenders manage to protect the center of the field pretty well. In games like these, it is always good to find ways to score, and we did that by shooting from outside the box. So it was basically us being patient and waiting for the right moments,” Peart said in a post-game interview.

From the opening whistle, Glenmuir displayed confidence and cohesion, controlling the tempo of the game with crisp passes and quick transitions against a disciplined Ocho Rios defence. They went close in the fourth minute when Brandon Wallace got on target, but his effort was blocked on the line.

Ocho Rios responded immediately after with a brisk counterattack, but Keanu Reid’s effort was charged down by a recovering defender.

Glenmuir continued to press and again when Dusting Cohen found space inside the 18-yard box for a right-footed effort, which was denied by Maleek Martin’s outstretched leg.

However, their offensive persistence paid off in the 18th minute when Watson scored his 23rd goal of the season from the penalty spot after captain Ja-Son Whyte was taken out inside the red zone.

Ocho Rios, undeterred, mounted an attempt to level the score and should have done so in the 28th, but Reid, who had a clear look on goal, fired his effort high and wide, as Glenmuir remained 1-0 up at the break.

Glenmuir picked up where they left off on the resumption and had another close shave in the 52nd when Whyte’s shot from a distance was deflected and kissed the upright on the way out.

They eventually doubled the lead in the 79th minute, when Whyte struck another shot from distance that came off Allen’s back, leaving Martin well beaten.

Ocho Rios, struggling to keep up with Glenmuir’s Blackwood’s left-footer from way out, bettered Martin at his near post four minutes from time.

Head coach Veron Peterkin acknowledged that his Ocho Rios team was outplayed on the day.

“We made some little errors here and there and it cost us the game, but to be fair, Glenmuir had the better game and came out on top. When we had our chances we just weren’t decisive enough, so it was just one of those games,” he said.

Wednesday’s results

Munro College 2, Clarendon College 1

Glenmuir 3, Ocho Rios 0

McGrath High 1, Manchester High 0

Frome Technical 1, Cornwall College 0

Central High 1, Denbigh 0

Clarendon College continued their quest to defend their ISSA/DaCosta Cup title with a 6-0 victory over Thompson Town High at Foga Road High on Wednesday.

Justin Hayles and Keanu Jennings both scored doubles to help the defending champs move to a perfect nine points from as many games to lead Zone H.

Denbigh High moved up into second place in Zone H after their 5-1 win over Edwin Allen High at Edwin Allen.

Three other schools also got their third win as Ocho Rios High, William Knibb Memorial and Manchester High secured victories over Aabuthnott Gallimore, Discovery Bay High and deCarteret College, respectively.

Ocho Rios High improved their advantage in Zone K after a 4-0 win over Aabuthnott Gallimore High with Tyrese Brown scoring a hat trick and Ryan Francis getting the other.

Ocho Rios High are now on nine points after a third straight win, four more than second place Ferncourt High.

William Knibb Memorial managed a 1-0 win over Discovery Bay High for their third win in Zone D while Michael Reid and Javis Lloyd scored for Manchester High in their 2-1 win over deCarteret College.

Tyrese Gowe and Raheem Harris both scored doubles to lead Dinthill Technical to a 6-0 win over Charlemont High as Gaybriel Anderson and Giovanni Afflick also got one goal each.

This was the second win for Dinthill Technical who now lead Zone J on goal difference over McGrath High.

At Jarrett Park, St James High rallied twice to earn an exciting 3-3 draw against Green Pond High in Zone A.

Green Pond got off to a fast start and were leading 2-0 with goals from Garth-Dane Bromwell in the seventh minute and Jerome Whynn in the 16th minute.

St James hit back with goals from Kevar Stewart in the 36th minute and Rory Smith in the 43rd minute as they were tied at 2-2 at half time.

Bromwell restored Green Pond High’s lead in the 46th minute but St James salvaged a point when Tariq Kerr scored in the 77th minute.

Garvey Maceo rebounded from their loss to Glenmuir High on Saturday with a 12-1 beating of Porus High with Omarion O’Brian and Rajay McLaughlin both leading the way with hat tricks while Maliek Robinson scored a brace.

Other results

Maggoty High 2-0 Lacovia High

Mile Gully High 0-2 Alphansus Davis High

Holmwood Technical 3-1 Knox College

Claude McKay High 0-3 Lennon High

Yallahs High 0-2 Morant Bay High

Robert Lightbourne High 1-3 Paul Bogle High

Seaforth High 0-4 Happy Grove High

Titchfield High 2-1 St. Mary High

Horace Clarke High 1-4 Port Antonio High

Wednesday was an action-packed day of schoolboy football across the island.

In Manning Cup action, Kingston Technical recorded a clinical 3-0 win over Bridgeport at the Spanish Town Prison Oval to move back to the top of Group A with 12 points from five games, two points ahead of defending champions, Jamaica College.

Charlie Smith currently sits third in the group with nine points from their five games.

Group B may be the most exciting as there are five teams that have a chance to qualify for the quarterfinals alongside Camperdown, who have 16 points from their six games, with one match to play. Excelsior High School and Jonathan Grant both moved to 11 points from six games after defeating Jose Marti and Tivoli, respectively.

Excelsior beat Jose Marti 6-0 at Jamaica College and now sits second in the group on 11 points with a goal difference of 11 while Jonathan Grant won 1-0 over Tivoli Gardens at the Spanish Town Prison Oval to move to third on 11 points with a goal difference of three.

Tivoli is fourth in Group B with 10 points while STATHS, who scored a 6-0 win over Dunoon Technical at Stadium East on Wednesday, are fifth on nine points.

St. Jago High is sixth in the group with eight points.

Clan Carthy High beat Papine High 1-0 at Jamaica College in a battle of the two bottom teams in Group C.

Wednesday also saw the beginning of the quarterfinal round playoff fixtures for Zones C, F and G in the DaCosta Cup.

In Zone C, the doubleheader at STETHS saw Lacovia record the only win of the day with a 2-1 victory over Munro College.

STETHS and B.B Coke played out a 3-3 draw.

The top four teams in Zone C have now all played six matches with one more playoff fixture remaining.

STETHS lead Zone C with 13 points followed by Munro College with 12, Lacovia on 10. B.B. Coke has seven points.

Meanwhile, Garvey Maceo maintained their perfect record with a 4-0 win over Foga Road in their Zone F playoff fixture at Garvey Maceo.

In the other playoff fixture in Zone F at Vere, the hosts secured a 1-0 win over Old Harbour High.

Garvey Maceo and Vere have all but confirmed their progression to the quarterfinal round with 18 and 13 points, respectively, with each having one match left to play.

Old Harbour are third on seven points and Foga Road are fourth on six.

The first set of matches in the quarterfinal playoff round in Zone G saw Happy Grove get a 4-1 victory over Port Antonio High to ascend to the top of the zone on 10 points.

St. Thomas Tech had to settle for a 2-2 draw with Seaforth in the other playoff fixture in the zone and now sits second on nine points.

Port Antonio are third on seven points and Seaforth are fourth with four points.

In the regular zone matches from Wednesday; in the Zone-A double-header at William Knibb, Irwin High and St. James High emerged winners.

Irwin got by Spot Valley 3-0 while St. James beat Maldon 4-0.

All eight teams in Zone A have now played six matches with William Knibb at the top with 15 points closely followed by Cornwall College with 13 and Irwin with 12.

Irwin and Herbert Morrison both have 12 points but Irwin is ahead on goal difference.

Mannings High School remains atop of Zone B following a 4-0 win over Green Pond.

Green Island and Rusea’s High played to a 2-2 draw at Green Pond.

Frome secured a 4-0 victory over Petersfield at Llandilo Sports Complex in the other Zone B fixture.

Mannings lead the seven-team zone with 13 points from their five matches. Frome Technical, which has also played five matches is second on 12 while Petersfield currently sits third on seven.

In the Zone D double-header at Manchester High, Manchester and Christiana both got crucial wins over Bellefield High and DeCarteret College respectively.

Manchester High won 3-1 to move to 13 points from their five games with a goal difference of 23 to lead the seven-team zone.

Christiana High beat DeCarteret College 2-0 to also move to 13 points from five games, only trailing Manchester on goal difference.

Holmwood Technical is now third in Zone D with 10 points from five games after hammering Alston High 7-0 at Kirkvine in the third Zone D match on the day.

Dinthill Technical secured their spot in the quarterfinal round with a 2-0 win over St. Mary High in the first game of a Zone H double-header at Drax Hall.

Dinthill advances as the winners of Zone H with 16 points from their six games.

The second match of the double-header saw Brown’s Town secure a crucial 1-0 win over York Castle to keep alive their hopes of a quarterfinal round berth.

In the third Zone H match on the day, McGrath earned a vital 3-2 win over Ocho Rios High to set up an exciting final match-day that will determine who will join Dinthill as quarterfinalists.

Ocho Rios, Charlemont and McGrath all have eight points heading into their final matches, with Ocho Rios currently occupying second-place with a plus-eight goal difference.

Charlemont High lie third with a goal difference of +1 and McGrath are fourth with a goal difference of 0.

In daCosta Cup action on Saturday, William Knibb stayed perfect with a 5-0 win over Maldon, at home, for their fifth win in as many games.

The first game of the day at William Knibb featured Holland High and Herbert Morrison playing out a 1-1 draw.

In the other Zone A games, at Irwin High, Cornwall College got a 2-0 win over Spot Valley and Irwin beat St. James High 3-0.

William Knibb leads Zone A with 15 points followed by Cornwall College with 10 and Herbert Morrison with nine.  Each team in Zone A has two matches left.

Munro College confirmed their place in the next round as Zone C winners with a 1-0 win over B.B. Coke in the first game of a doubleheader at STETHS.

The second game at STETHS saw Lacovia and Maggotty draw 2-2.

Munro will be joined in the next round by STETHS who got a 4-0 win over Mt. St. Joseph, at Kirkvine, to finish second in the zone with 10 points.

Holmwood Technical beat DeCarteret College 4-0, at Manchester High, to move to fourth in Zone D on seven points, three behind Manchester and Christiana and one behind Bellefield.

Defending champions, Clarendon College, are out of the competition as Lennon High and Edwin Allen advanced from Zone E.

Lennon topped the zone with 11 points and Edwin Allen finished second with 10, beating out Clarendon College on goal difference.

Lennon and Edwin Allen played out a 0-0 draw at Turners Field, meaning a draw would’ve been enough for Clarendon College to advance alongside Lennon.

That didn’t happen, however, as they were beaten 1-0 by Glenmuir, at Glenmuir, ending their hopes of defending their title.

Denbigh beat Claude McKay 5-1 in the other Zone E game on the day.

St. Thomas Technical and Happy Grove advanced from Zone G.

St. Thomas Technical finished as zone winners with eight points and Happy Grove finished second with five points after a 6-2 win over Port Antonio High at Lynch Park.

Happy Grove finished with the same number of points and same goal difference as Paul Bogle High but finished ahead of them on goals scored with six compared to four.

Paul Bogle drew 1-1 with Seaforth, at York Oval, in the other zone game today.

In Zone H, Ocho Rios High and Dinthill Technical both scored 3-0 wins over York Castle High and Charlemont respectively in a doubleheader at Drax Hall.

Dinthill moved to 13 points to strengthen their zone lead, while Ocho Rios and Charlemont are second and third with eight points each.

 Manning Cup

In Group B Manning Cup action, Tivoli beat Dunoon Technical 4-2 and Excelsior and STATHS played out a 3-3 draw in a doubleheader at Stadium East.

At the Spanish Town Prison Oval, St. Jago secured a 1-0 win over Jose Marti while Camperdown beat Jonathan Grant 1-0.

Camperdown remain perfect at the top of Group B with 15 points with Tivoli second on 10 and Excelsior third on eight.

In Group C, St. Catherine High beat Papine 3-0 in a 3:00pm game at Jamaica College.

The win moves St. Catherine to second in Group C on seven points behind KC with nine and ahead of Mona with four.

In the first game of a zone C doubleheader at STETHS, B.B. Coke secured a 2-1 victory over Lacovia.

Danyea Whitely scored both goals for B.B. Coke, the first coming off a brilliant team move just before halftime, in the 46^th minute, and the second coming from a close range left-footed strike in the 76^th minute.

B.B. Coke have now scored 22 goals in three games while conceding just one and lead zone C with seven points.

B.B. Coke head coach Kirk Ricketts is looking for consistency from the team after getting to the top of the zone.

“To remain consistent, we are not leading by ten points so we must be consistent and take it one game at a time,” he says.

The second half of the doubleheader saw Munro College defeat STETHS 2-1 with goals from Ceon Falconer in the 54^th minute and Xavier Bruce in the 74^th minute.

Donte Campbell scored a penalty for STETHS in the 83^rd minute.

The win moves Munro up to third in the zone behind B.B Coke and Lacovia with six points while STETHS now sit fourth on four points.

Zone B leaders, Mannings, were held to a 2-2 draw by Rusea’s at Green Pond and now have seven points from three matches.

Frome Technical moved to third in the zone behind Mannings, and Petersfield, with six points, after a 3-1 win over Godfrey Stewart in their 3:30 game at Llandilo.

At Wespow Park, Green Island beat Green Pond 2-1 to get their first points of the season.

In Zone D action, leaders Christiana were held to a 1-1 draw by Bellefield at Kirkvine in their 3:30 encounter.

Elsewhere, Belair secured a 2-1 over Alston in the first match of a doubleheader at Manchester High to move into fourth in the zone.

Manchester moved to second in the zone by securing the biggest win of the day in the competition, a 7-0 demolition of DeCarteret College in the second game.

Christiana leads zone D with seven points followed by Manchester, Holmwood, and Belair with four points each.

In a zone F doubleheader at Foga Road, Vere Technical and Foga Road both secured 1-0 victories over Old Harbour and Central High respectively.

Garvey Maceo secured a 3-0 win over Kemps Hill at home in the other zone F game on the day.

Garvey Maceo leads zone F with nine points from three matches, followed by Foga Road on six and Central High on four.

Dinthill Technical defeated McGrath 4-0 at home to move to seven points and remain at the top of zone H.

Ocho Rios moved to second in the zone on five points after a 6-0 win over St. Mary High in the second match of a doubleheader at Drax Hall. Charlemont beat Brown’s Town 1-0 in the first match and moved to third in the zone, also on five points.

Manning Cup

Moving over to Manning Cup action, the first match of the group A doubleheader at Jamaica College saw Kingston Technical, who beat JC 1-0 in their last game in a shock result, produce another solid display to brush aside Kingston High 5-0 and move to the top of the group with six points from three games.

Jamaica College used goals from Giovanni Mitto and Duncan McKenzie to beat Charlie Smith 2-0 for their first win of the season in the second match of the doubleheader.

JC remain fifth in the group with four points from three games.

Elsewhere in group A, St. Georges College got their second win is as many games with a 1-0 win over Bridgeport at the Spanish Town Prison Oval to move to second.

Charlie Smith sits third on six points and Calabar are fourth on four points.