A new champion will be crowned in this year’s ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup, as St George’s College denied defending champions Jamaica College a spot in the semi-final for the first time since 2012, after they played out a 1-1 stalemate in their decisive Group two quarterfinal encounter at Ashenheim Stadium on Saturday.
St George’s College entered the contest needing only a point and did enough to ensure they got in when Brian Burkett converted a 45+3-minute penalty. Though Jamaica College pulled on back through substitute Jayd Johnson (59th), stout defending, coupled with some excellent glove work by D’Jone Davis, in goal for St George’s College, broke the hearts of their Old Hope Road-based counterparts.
With the point, St George’s College finished second on five points, two behind group winners Hydel High, who were 3-1 winners over Tivoli High in their fixture at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.
Both St George’s College and Hydel will next face Mona High and Kingston College respectively in the semi-final, with all four teams also set to represent the urban area in the all-island Champions Cup knockout tournament.
Meanwhile, Jamaica College, who ended third on three points, it is on to the consolation Walker Cup knockout tournament, along with the pointless Tivoli, who are defending champions.
Marcel Gayle, assistant coach of many-time champions St George’s College was delighted by the outcome, which he credited to the work done by goalkeeper Davis, in particular.
“I must say credit to Jamaica College, they are a very quality team, fought hard, and it is something that we were prepared for. It was a case of defence versus attack and we defended stoutly, credit must be given to D’Jone in goal, he was fantastic and I think he made the difference for us today,” Gayle said in a post-game interview.
With 53 titles between them, the clash between Jamaica College and Jamaica College was always expected to be a humdinger affair and it didn’t disappoint.
The games started at a good tempo with both teams going at each other in end-to-end action. Jamaica College gradually gained the ascendancy, as they showed more enterprise in attack which resulted in numerous squandered chances.
They should have opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Jabarie Howell was left unmarked deep inside the 18-yard box, but his shot kept out by Davis.
A minute later Jamoy Dennis produced a tidy run down the right channel and played a pass inside to Amarlie King, who couldn’t sort his feet out in time to get a shot on target.
Jamaica College again went close in the 24th when Malachi Sterling combined with King on a counterattack, but the latter again muffed his effort.
The “Dark Blues” of Old Hope Road, thought they had the go-ahead goal on the half-hour mark, but the goal was flagged offside.
As St George’s College struggled to break free, Jamaica College was again denied by Davis, who left his line well to block Tahir Lawrence’s stinging shot from point blank range, in the 35th minute.
Just when it seemed like the teams would go into the break goalless, the “Light Blues” of North Street found the lead against the run of play when Burkett converted from the penalty spot, after Zabir Taylor was felled inside the area by Javaun Mills.
Having paid for their profligacy, Jamaica College now requiring two goals to progress, again came out pressing on the resumption and pulled level 14 minutes in. This, as Johnson got in behind defenders and applied a tidy finish beyond Davis from an angle.
The Davion Ferguson-coached Jamaica College continued to create chances in their push for the winner. The best of those came in the latter stages when Johnson’s freekick was blocked by Davis and three players converged on the rebound but none could convert in time added.
That basically summed up Jamaica College’s Day, and Ferguson was left bitterly disappointed.
“We came out here today with a plan, we created enough chances to win the game and we just didn’t put them away. We’ve had some issues up to and it showed here today. St George’s came here with a resilient spirit, and they deserve to go through, so congratulations to them,” he said.
Saturday’s results
St George’s College 1, Jamaica College 1
Hydel High 3, Tivoli High 1
Semi-Final Matchups
Mona High vs St George's College
Hydel High vs Kingston College
Reigning champions Jamaica College revived their chances of a successful title defence, while Kingston College made a big statement, as both registered victories in their respective ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup quarterfinal encounters at Stadium East field on Tuesday.
Davion Ferguson’s Jamaica College, who lost their first contest to Hydel High, returned to winning ways with a 2-1 win over reigning Walker Cup champions Tivoli High in Group Two.
Elsewhere in the group, many-time champions St George’s College came from behind to secure a 1-1 stalemate with Hydel at the Ashenheim Stadium.
With those results, St George’s College remain atop the group on four points, same as Hydel but with a slightly better goal difference. Jamaica College occupies third position on three points, with Tivoli Gardens now out of contention for a semi-final berth.
In Group Two, Jaheim McLean’s all-important goal lifted Kingston College to a 1-0 win over perennial rivals St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) in a clash which was a repeat of last year’s semi-finals.
It was another lively clash between the two that could have gone either way, but Mclean’s 18th-minute strike proved the difference, as Mona High and St Catherine high played out a 1-1 stalemate in the other group fixture.
The win saw the North Street-based Kingston College to the summit of the group on four points, one ahead of STATHS, while Mona (two points) and St Catherine (one point), remain in contention heading into Friday’s final round of games.
In the feature contest at Stadium East, Kingston College fired the first warning shot through Demario Dailey, who attempted an acrobatic finish that just went wide of the target.
STATHS settled into their rhythm and controlled the tempo of the game from there on, as they created a few half chances of their own which they failed to make count.
The Bumper Hall-based team was caught napping when a quickly taken freekick found McLean open and the player sporting the number 10 jersey had a decent first touch and an even better finish to send the North Street fans into a frenzy.
Though Kingston College led the contest, STATHS looked the more dominant outfit and the Phillip Williams-coached team almost pulled level on the stroke of halftime. A delightful strike from Alexavier Gooden from about 40 yards out rattled the underside of the crossbar and bounced on the goal line.
STATHS maintained the momentum on the resumption and should have pulled level three minutes in, but Andre Salmon went for power instead of accuracy from deep inside the 18-yard box. He was left annoyed by his poor decision.
With Kingston College content on sitting back, STATHS again went close in the 70th minute. Taraine Hall found time and space inside the final third for a stinging left-footed effort that was well saved by Malique Williams diving to his left.
The famed purples, much like they did at the start, had the last attack of the game, but Dailey’s effort from a distance came off the upright.
Winning coach Vassell Reynolds praised his young charges for their execution.
“I am very proud. It was a tough game, we knew it was going to come down to the last 20 minutes, so we relied on fitness. I believe we are a lot fitter than we think, so kudos to the boys they have been working very hard and I think it was a masterful performance from them,” Reynolds said in a post-game interview.
His counterpart Williams also felt his team gave a good showing.
“It was a good performance, we turned off one time and we got punished, but apart from that, the guys displayed some good football. This is a setback because it makes the last game (against Mona) a little tougher, but we have to go and do what we have to do,” he noted.
Tuesday’s results
Group One
Mona 1, St Catherine 1
Kingston College 1, STATHS 0
Group Two
Jamaica College 2, Tivoli High 1
St George’s College 1, Hydel High 1
Friday’s fixtures
Group One
STATHS vs Mona
Kingston College vs St Catherine
Group Two
Hydel High vs Tivoli High
Jamaica College vs St George’s College
Last year’s beaten finalist St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS), former champions St George’s College and the highly-touted Hydel High, all registered wins to kick start the quarterfinals of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup on Saturday.
The Phillip Williams-coached STATHS continued their rich vein of form with a 2-0 win over Anthony Patrick's St Catherine High in their Group One encounter at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.
In the other group contest played at Jamaica College’s Ashenheim Stadium, Vassell Reynold’s Kingston College came from behind to secure a 1-1 stalemate with the Craig Butler-conditioned Mona High.
With those results, STATHS occupy pole position on three points, with Kingston College and Mona High on a point each, as the battle for urban area schoolboy supremacy intensifies.
That said, Davion Ferguson’s reigning champions Jamaica College will have to play catch up in Group Two, as they were edged 1-0 by the Devon Anderson-coached Hydel in the feature contest at the Ashenheim Stadium.
Meanwhile, Neville “Bertis” Bell’s many-time champions St George’s College also brought their vein of form into play with a workmanlike 2-0 win over reigning Walker Cup champions Tivoli High, coached by Christopher Nicholas.
With the win, St George’s College head the group one three points with a one goal difference over Hydel, also on three points. The pointless Jamaica College and Tivoli High will have a chance to get on the board when they square off on Tuesday.
At the same time, St George’s College and Hydel will do battle, while in Group One, Mona High and St Catherine will lock horns with Kingston College and STATHS renewing their rivalry. The games are scheduled for Stadium East and Jamaica College.
Saturday’s results
Group One
STATHS 2, St Catherine 0
Mona High 1, Kingston College 1
Group Two
St George’s College 2, Tivoli High 0
Jamaica College 1, Hydel 0
Tuesday’s schedule
Group One
2:30pm: Mona High vs St Catherine @Jamaica College
4:30pm: Kingston College vs STATHS @ Stadium East
Group Two
2:30pm: Jamaica College vs Tivoli High @ Stadium East
4:30pm: St George’s College vs Hydel @ Jamaica College
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
