Calabar High put in a virtuoso performance to whip Excelsior High School 5-1 in their Group A top-of-the-table in the ISSA/Gatorade/Digicel Manning Cup encounter at the Courtney Walsh Oval yesterday.

The visiting Calabar, boosted by a throng of drum-beating supporters, invaded the Mountain View fortress and conquered all.

The diminutive Kyle Scott grabbed two goals in the 64th and 72nd minutes and was ably assisted by Javon East in the 52nd, captain Wilbourne Williams with a 69th minute penalty and Chevonne Marsh in the 86th.

Earlier, National Under-17 player Zhelano Barnes, who scored against Argentina in the World Cup, had brought Excelsior level with a 57th-minute freekick.

The Red Hills Road-based Calabar with their seventh win from seven games moved to 21 points, six more than Excelsior and sealed top spot in Group A and a place into the Walker Cup knockout competition.

The green-and-black-clad Calabar maintained their 100 per cent record, and along with Kingston College, are the only two Corporate Area schools with that distinction.

In a game which started poorly, Calabar finished strongly and secured their second win of the season over Excelsior following their 2-1 win earlier.

But their victory was made easier by the dismissal of the outstanding goalkeeper Ryan Jackson, who while collecting a ball, slapped Scott in the face and was red-carded by referee Wilverglen Lamey in the 64th minute.

With the score delicately poised at 2-1 in favour of Calabar, the balance swung considerably after Williams easily converted the resulting penalty kick making it 3-1.

Down to 10 men with little over 20 minutes remaining, Calabar showed their killer instinct and wrapped up the game in style for an emphatic 5-1 win.

The other Group A match between home team St Catherine High and Holy Trinity was rained out. St Catherine remained in third spot on eight points, while Holy Trinity are fourth with four points. Greater Portmore are at the bottom of the group, without a point after six matches.

Meanwhile, high riding Charlie Smith High continued their goal-scoring exploits, demolishing Dunoon Technical 8-0 at Breezy Castle to win Group C.

The Jerome Waite-coached outfit with their eight win from nine games moved to 25 points, seven clear of second-placed Ascot High who defeated Haile Selassie High 4-0 on 18 points.

Charlie Smith in the process became the first team to score 40 goals in the season, while conceding only six for a plus 34-goal difference.

Wolmer’s Boys kept their slim chances of advancing with Charlie Smith to the next round with a 5-0 hammering of Vauxhall High and are third on 17 points.

But Wolmer’s will have the difficult task of playing away to Charlie Smith in the final group match on Saturday, while Ascot will host a Dunoon Tech team with nothing to play for.

Title favourites St George’s College registered their seventh win from eight matches with a comprehensive 5-1 win over Tarrant High and sealed top spot in Group E with 22 points.

Spanish Town stayed second on 17 points after brushing aside Meadowbrook High 2-0 at Spanish Town Prison Oval.

The game between Innswood High and Edith Dalton James was not played because of a waterlogged field.

Innswood remained third on 14 points, and with their rescheduled match, still harbour thoughts of snatching second spot ahead of Spanish Town.

In today’s matches: Tivoli Gardens host Campion College; Waterford high travel to Denham Town and Hydel High play Papine High in Group B action.

In Group D, defending champion Jamaica College play Cumberland; Camperdown tackle St Jago and Kingston Technical take on Pembroke Hall.

Meanwhile, high-riding Kingston College host Ardenne High and Donald Quarrie play Penwood High in Group F.