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.

Garvey Maceo placed one foot in the semi-final of the ISSA/Wata daCosta Cup after a commanding 3-0 victory over Munro College in their Group B quarterfinal contest at Glenmuir High on Wednesday.

Garvey Maceo secured three crucial points courtesy of goals from Rushawn Whyte (74th), Omarian O’Brian (78th), and Rakeesh Jones (90+2), as they asserted their dominance in a game marked by missed chances, thrilling attacks, and at times, some good glovework by Jason Williams in goal for Munro College.

With the win, Garvey Maceo, dubbed the ‘Cubanz’ took control of Group B on four points, two points ahead of Central High and Ocho Rios High, who played out a 1-1 stalemate in the other fixture. By virtue of that, Garvey Maceo only require a point in their final contest against Ocho Rios High to confirm their semi-final berth.

It is for this reason that Head coach Lester Hibbert was beaming with delight at the outcome.

“It was an excellent performance; we are here for a reason so it is just for us to now go back to the training pitch, refocus and work hard again. The boys came out and they did excellent because they wanted this so going forward people will see what Garvey Maceo is all about,” Hibbert said.

It was a relentless display of control and attacking prowess by Garvey Maceo from the outset, as they were more aggressive and constantly challenged Munro’s backline.

In fact, they should have won by a wider margin as they created a string of early chances, but the finishes eluded them at that point.

In the 32nd minute, Everald Swaby offered a glimpse of Garvey Maceo’s intent when he dismissed his marker and let loose a powerful strike that forced Munro’s custodian Jason Williams into a crucial save at the near post.

That would be one of several moments where Williams proved vital in goal, as he stood tall against a flurry of Garvey Maceo attacks.

With the scoreline being goalless at the break, Garvey Maceo picked up where they left off on the resumption and went close a minute in as Rajay McLaughlin fired off a shot that skimmed wide of the post.

McLaughlin continued to test Munro’s defence in the 48th minute, his shot blocked by a quick-thinking defender. On the resulting corner, O’Brian’s effort eluded all and sundry and nearly found the net.

Garvey Maceo’s siege on Munro’s goal persisted as the match wore on, and Livingston Donaldson’s close-range attempt in the 61st minute demanded another save from Williams.

Williams again came to Munro’s rescue as he dived full stretch to deny Swaby’s powerful shot just five minutes later.

But the breakthrough felt inevitable and it came courtesy of Whyte, who fired a well-placed shot to the far corner for his fifth goal of the campaign.

Garvey Maceo doubled their lead four minutes later, as O’Brian, delivering his 11th goal of the season in spectacular style with a brilliant solo run that saw him glide past multiple defenders before calmly slotting the ball home.

With Munro reeling, the Clarendon team helped themselves to another goal. A Wilton Williams cross was mishandled by the otherwise impressive Jason Williams, allowing Jones to pounce and seal the win in time added.

Munro’s Head coach Kemar Ricketts was left disappointed but pointed out that they’ll look to bounce back in their final contest against Central High.

“It was a disappointing performance in the second half; we wanted to get something out of the game but such is life and we just have to regroup and come again,” Ricketts noted.

Wednesday’s results

Garvey Maceo 3, Munro College 0

Frome Technical 1, STETHS 3

Central High 1, Ocho Rios High 1

Tuesday’s Result

Glenmuir 4, McGrath 1