LENNON High pulled off a remarkable comeback victory in the ISSA/LockerRoom Schoolgirl Football final at the Spanish Town Prison Oval yesterday, rallying from two goals down to clinch their fifth successive title with a 3-2 victory over rivals Excelsior High.

Shanese Bowen led the fightback for the Clarendon school by earning the penalty which tied the game in the 71st minute, then scoring the winner five minutes later.

Earlier, Excelsior took the lead after 19 minutes through Shanel Spence, then went 2-0 up five minutes after the break through Nicole Broderick.

However, Peter Kay Green pulled a goal back for Lennon in the 65th and the Merron Gordoncoached team never looked back.

“This one was really fun,” said coach Gordon after the game. “Everyone wrote us off… but I want to thank God for these girls because they really worked hard and showed that they are true champions,” he added.

He said Excelsior showed the early desire to win the game, but he thought they started celebrating prematurely. He said to win five straight titles is something special.

“This is a gift from God for me and I just want to continue to bless young lives… but hopefully, we can do it again next year,” he said.

Excelsior started the brighter of the teams and deservedly went ahead when Spence fired them into the lead. They added another in the 45th when Broderick broke away and fired past Shanay Ricketts.

However, after wasting two great chances, Green pulled a goal back when she kicked past Kareen Neil in the 65th minute.

Six minutes later, Bowen ran the full length of the pitch, leaving four defenders in her wake, before being cut down inside the box. Ramona Hyde dispatched the resulting penalty to tie the game at 2-2.

Then five minute later, the speedy Bowen dismissed her marker, but made the angle tight for herself. However, she managed to squeezed the ball between Neil and her near post for the winner.

Excelsior’s coach Xavier Gilbert said of the four defeats to Lennon in a final, this was the most difficult to digest.

“We were leading 2-0; we had the upperhand, but we got indisciplined and lost our shape… Lennon showed they are true champions… they were down but they never gave up; they showed character and got the third goal and retained their title,” he said.