MANNING Cup champions Jamaica College (JC) will attempt to take their firstever Urban Area double when they defend the ISSA/Pepsi/Digicel Walker Cup KO title against Bridgeport High at Constant Spring today at 2:30 pm.

JC, who up until last season, had amazingly never won the KO competition, defeated Norman Manley 1-0 in the semi-final in early November.

Bridgeport got by St Catherine rivals Eltham High by the same scoreline in the other semi-final and will be seeking their second hold on the title, after winning in 2001.

So far this season, JC hold the advantage over their Portmore-based opponents after recording both a 2-0 and a penalty shoot-out Manning Cup win in respective secondround and semi-final matchups.

Buoyed by last weekend’s victory over Waterford that gave them an historic 24th lien on the Manning Cup trophy, JC’s assistant coach Delroy Brown told the Observer his team is aspiring for the double.

“We’re very confident going into this match. At this stage the boys are confident that no Urban Area team can beat us right now, but we’re not overconfident. There’s history in the making because we have never won the Manning Cup and Walker Cup in the same year.

“I think Bridgeport is a better team than Waterford; nevertheless, it’s the same preparation going in like we had for previous matches. The previous victories against them speak for themselves, but we’re not going to underestimate Bridgeport because they do have some talent, but our boys are mature and I’m not too worried about them handling it (the occasion),” he said.

After under-performing in the semifinal loss to the Old Hope Road-based team, Bridgeport finished the Manning Cup strongly with a 5-4 extra-time win over Norman Manley to take third place.

Coach Anthony Patrick said his team is anxious to impose themselves on the game today and is expecting them to make use of their last chance for winning silverware this season.

“The players are ready and raring to go and anxious to finish the competition on a high. We scored five in the last game, so we want to keep those shooting boots on.

“Once we score we’ll be okay, but we just need to convert our chances because we missed some simple ones in those previous two games against JC. So definitely… we’ll be in a positive frame of mind and… hungry to score some goals,” Patrick said.