FORMER Manning Cup champions and last season’s semi-finalists Excelsior High got off to an encouraging start in the 2013 ISSA/lime football season, blanking a young but plucky Waterford High 2-0 at Mountain View yesterday.

A goal in each half from Romaine Hosang in the 12th minute, and Kareem Banton in the 87th garnered the three points for the Leebert Halliman-coached team.

The game got off to a brisk start in a steady drizzle which made ball control a bit testing on a skiddy surface which the visitors seemed to enjoy and looked the better team in the opening minutes.

But after Hosang found the net with a low right-footed shot from a defence-splitting pass from Damani Morias, Excelsior came in their own, but the young Waterford team showed good organisation at the back, marshalled by Rakeem Roberts, Steve Williams and Steffon Fyffe.

At the end of 90 minutes, coaches Halliman and Jermaine Thomas shared their perspective on their teams’ opening game. Coach Halliman was pleased with the three points, but his expectations of a better performance from his team were nonetheless left unsatisfied.

“Our preparation was hampered by the condition of the field. We were out for three weeks, and that put us back a bit. But it is a long season, and hopefully we can pick up as we go along. About today’s game, I did not think that our play was up to the standard expected, but we did the most important thing, that was to get the three points and we did that comfortably,” Halliman added.

His counterpart Thomas expressed the view that his team should be commended for their performance, “on the road, though, you will definitely want to take a point. That did not happen today, so therefore moving forward we would have to put this defeat behind us as quickly as possible, as we look closely at where we went wrong and look at critical mistakes and our weak points and seek to turn them into strengths.

“Let me add, though, this is a pretty young team and probably a little bit of nerves set in today, as they are mainly 14, 15 and 16-year-olds, and they played well and showed character despite the result,” Thomas observed.

In other results:

Group A — Jonathan Grant High 0, Calabar 1; Ascot High 2, STATHS 0; Hydel High 1, Edith Dalton James 1

Group B — Norman Manley 2, St Jago 2

Group E — St Andrew High 1, Bridgeport High 2; Jose Marti 2, Ardenne 1; Tivoli Gardens 0, JC 5.

Group G — Campion College 2, Holy Trinity High 3.

Today’s games

Group C — St Catherine High vs Denham Town

Kingston Technical vs Wolmer’s Boys

Papine High vs Clan Carthy

Group D — Donald Quarrie vs Vauxhall High

Charlie Smith vs Oberlin High

Group F — Spanish Town vs Penwood High

KC vs Eltham High