FORMER champions Norman Manley High got their 2011 ISSA/Gatorade/Digicel Manning Cup Group F campaign off to a winning start by outscoring Ardenne High, 5-2, at Ardenne Road yesterday.

Jemoy Green, Shavar Valentine, Roshawn McDonald, substitute Jevaughn Barker and Leonard Page were on target for the winners, while Linval Shaw replied with a double for the losers.

Green put the visitors ahead in the second minute from the penalty spot, before Shaw pulled the home side level in the 32nd minute.

Norman Manley regained control of the game just after the hour mark when Ardenne’s goalkeeper Matthew Campbell brought down Valentine inside the penalty area.

It was the second bookable offence for the custodian within eight minutes, and with the home side not having a substitute goalkeeper on the bench, midfielder Nafari Mohammed was asked by coach Andrew Hinds to don the gloves.

He was helpless as Valentine slotted home from the penalty spot in the 65th minute.

If Mohammed was faultless with the penalty, then sadly, he was solely responsible for the remaining three goals. He immediately displayed a dislike for catching the ball and it was not long before his team paid the price.

On minute 70, he parried one-handed McDonald’s right-sided corner into his own goal. Then eight minutes later, he opted to punch a straightforward catch and succeeded only in helping the ball down at the feet of Barker, who rammed home from six yards.

And four minutes from the end, despite being well-placed at his near post, Mohammed allowed Page’s weak effort from an acute angle to slip past him.

In time added, Shaw converted the third penalty kick of the game, but by then Norman Manley were well beyond recall.

Miguel Coley, head coach of Norman Manley, was pleased with the result, if not the performance of his team.

“Convincing in terms of the scoreline, but in terms of how we played I think it was a shaky game,” he told the Observer.

“For most of the game we didn’t look settled, but we are happy for the win and I guess this will propel us through the round.”

Hinds thought his team competed well, but rued the weakness of his bench, including the lack of a substitute goalkeeper.

“I didn’t think my team lost because of their inability to perform; I think they competed and competed well. Take nothing away from Norman Manley, but I thought we had better possession, we had some glorious moments, but Manley got the three points, which is more important than anything else,” he said.

Hinds added: “My bench isn’t as deep as it should be, so when I lost the goalkeeper, which is the only one I have, I had to go for someone who has some sort of goalkeeping ability, which is my midfielder, and then my team got weak and his (substitute goalkeeper) inability to keep goal also caused some goals to be scored.

“I have another goalkeeper registered, but he hasn’t been training so I will have to see what can be done to try and solve the issues that he’s having which is preventing him from training,” said Hinds, a former national defender.