ON Thursday, a weary Wolmer’s Boys’ School contingent edged Excelsior High to retain the Walker Cup title as their consolation prize in an extremely demanding season.

The well rested Excelsior team looked to get the better of the beaten Manning Cup finalists in front of a Constant Spring crowd that included the likes of Aston Messam and national scout Jackie Walters.

The boys from Mountain View seemed quite confident in the early stages, evidenced by the exclusion of influential player, Kareem Banton from the starting line-up.

Wolmer’s made two changes to the team that was beaten in the Manning Cup finals by Jamaica College. Kamario Osbourne and Andre Wilson came in for Jordan James and Joel Cunningham respectively.

In the opening stages both teams pressed, but it was Wolmer’s who got the better exchanges. Their first real sight at goal came in the 30th minute when Excelsior failed to deal with a corner.

Simon Halliman of Excelsior was forced to clear Wilson’s goal-bound effort off the line with the Excelsior custodian, Jonah Morgan, well beaten. The defending champions would eventually take the lead in the 38th minute when Demar Rose found Jaheel Hyde, who released a dicing pass for Osbourne to flick past the advancing goalkeeper Morgan.

Wolmer’s continued to enjoy the run of play which forced Excelsior to summon Banton from the bench. In the second half, Excelsior started to enjoy the better opportunities but was held at bay by the defensive pair of Rennico Clarke and Chavez Brooks.

Leebert Halliman injected the lively Damani Morais in the 63rd to pressure the Wolmer’s defence. Their first real chance came in the 67th when Brooks made a critical tackle to deny Banton a shot on goal. Ludlow Bernard opted to replace the solid Hakeem Smith with the speedy Jordan James to inject some life into the Wolmer’s attack.

Jaheel Hyde was a shadow of his usual self as the Wolmer’s attacker was constantly closed down by Excelsior. In the 77th minute, Banton was brought down on the edge of the penalty area.

Colorado Murray dispatched a beauty from 20 yards out to leave Dane Lee with no chance in goal. This goal allowed Wolmer’s to play their third consecutive extra time, a self-inflicted punishment for the Champions. Wolmer’s embarrassed the pundits who saw them losing in extra time as they did to JC and actually enjoyed the better run of play.

Indeed, they showed mettle that was absent in their battle for the coveted Manning Cup. Jaheel Hyde outpaced Romario Hosang to present Jordan James with a one on one opportunity but the forward failed to convert. Demar Rose got a similar chance in the second stanza but Jonah Morgan of Excelsior was equally brilliant in denying him.

The game stayed 1-1 after regulation and extra time which summoned the dreaded penalty kicks to be the decider. Banton and Morais converted the first two for Excelsior while Hyde and Rose did the same for Wolmer’s.

Dane Lee then came up big for Wolmer’s in saving penalties from Curtis Christie and Samuel Halliman. Chavez Brooks converted the third for Wolmer’s and it was left up to Osbourne, who soundly justified his inclusion in the starting line-up as he gave the Heroes Circle team their fourth Walker Cup title.

Coach Bernard was happy to grab a title as some consolation at the end of a tiring season and MVP Demar Rose dedicated it to his mother. Coach Halliman expressed positive sentiments about his team’s performance.

— Mikhail Palmer