CHAMPIONS Jamaica College (JC) failed to make it two wins from two games in Group J when they were held by Excelsior High, while Holy Trinity High recorded their first win in second-round action of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/LIME Manning Cup football competition.

Holy Trinity came away with an easy 2-0 victory over Denham Town High, while JC played out an entertaining goalless draw with Excelsior High in the feature game of the double-header at Prison Oval Field yesterday.

Jamaica College (four points) remain at the top of the standings with a superior goal difference ahead of Excelsior High, who are also on four points. Holy Trinity (three points) occupy third position, while Denham Town remain at the foot of the standings, having suffered back-to-back defeats.

The fast-paced encounter between Jamaica College and Excelsior was evenly contested, and despite the lack of goals in the first half, both teams were enterprising in attack which ensured that the large crowd was kept interested.

The second half was even more entertaining with exciting end-to-end action. Excelsior enjoyed the better of play in the latter stages of the game which brought the crowd to its feet with good tactical plays in attack.

However, their tactical plays were evenly matched by exceptional glovework by Courtney Dowdie in goal for Jamaica College, as both teams settled for a share of the spoils.

Coach of Excelsior, Leebert Halliman, lamented that his team should have won the game, while in the same breath, he hailed his team for a spirited fight.

“I wanted to win this game…with all the luxury that JC have, we didn’t have that. But we showed a lot of determination and guts and tactical plays (and) we should have come away with a victory,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jamaica College’s Miguel Coley shared the sentiments of his counterpart.

“It was a tough game by them (Excelsior), what summed it up was that last play with the young man holding back the next player… it shows their commitment and what it means to them. I think they were more fighting…first ball, second ball, they were more sharper at it than us; so we just have to be a bit more hungry and learn from this,” he explained.

In the opening encounter, a beautiful 26th-minute strike from Jevon Fuller and a 76th minute penalty by substitute Andre Leslie handed Holy Trinity a much-needed win over Denham Town.