DEFENDING champions Jamaica College (JC) and Charlie Smith advanced to the final of the ISSA/LIME Manning Cup football competition with 4-2 and 1-0 victories over Camperdown High and Wolmer’s Boys respectively, at the Stadium East Field yesterday.

With JC set to contest both the Walker Cup and Manning Cup finals that were originally scheduled for Saturday, the ‘Dark Blues’ will now play the Walker Cup knockout final against St George’s College on Wednesday, November 26, four days after the Manning Cup final.

With national assistant head coach Miguel Coley taking a break from his duties with the Reggae Boyz in Montego Bay to guide JC, the all-island champions remained on course for four titles with an efficient display.

In arguably the game of the season, JC emerged victorious in a six-goal thriller over Camperdown in front of a packed venue.

JC seized the advantage and stunned Camperdown with two quick-fire goals inside 12 minutes. Akean Shackleford opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a glancing header before an own goal by Fabian Grant gifted the champions another in the 11th minute.

But the tall Rameish McKnight collected a ball from Tajea Brown and fired home to reduce the deficit in the 24th minute, as Camperdown came into their own with some good football.

The Christopher Bender-coached boys from East Kingston were looking the better team, but were caught out by a one-two punch by JC once again.

National Under-17 striker Donovan Dawkins, who scored seven goals against the US Virgin Islands in Jamaica’s 19-0 win a few months ago, started at right back for JC, and his searching pass found Junior Flemmings, who slipped by the advancing goalkeeper Kemo Pinnock and presented Raffique Bryan with the easiest of goals in the 38th minute.

But Camperdown with the talented Ajuma Johnson pulling the strings in midfield showed their resilience, pulling back another goal much to the delight of the partisan crowd at the venue.

Substitute Andre McCatty, who was introduced in the 53rd minute, scored with his first touch, firing home into the roof of the net in the 54th minute after receiving a delightful back-heel pass from McKnight.

With JC’s lead now 3-2, Senator Ruel Reid, the normally relaxed principal of the Old Hope Road institution, was on his feet, looking an anxious man. But his captain, as he has done all season, piloted the JC ship to safety with a brilliant solo effort in the 90th+3 minutes.

Camperdown threw everything at JC in an effort to find the equalising goal that would have given them a lifeline and possible extra time.

But they were caught out on the counter-attack and Flemmings latched onto a clearance, cut inside a tired defender and saw his left-footed effort take a deflection on its way in.

Winning coach Coley said his team has an invincible determination that they will find a way to win no matter what.

“Camperdown had a really good midfield and they really controlled the middle. But we tried not to make them penetrate and that was important and we sat back and caught them on the counter and it paid off for us,” noted Coley.

Meanwhile, in the curtain-raiser, Charlie Smith High stunned the more fancied Wolmer’s Boys for the second time this season, clipping them 1-0 en route to the final.

Having beaten Wolmer’s 2-1 in the Walker Cup, head coach Jerome Waite once again masterminded another victory over Ludlow Bernard in a close and evenly matched affair.

The diminutive Chevon Crooks smashed home a sweet left-footer in the 58th minute, sending Charlie Smith supporters into a frenzy and the school into the final for the first time since 2011.

It was a good build-up play involving a number of passes and Crooks collected the ball just inside the 18-yard box, shimmied to his right before going onto his favoured left foot and firing home.

But despite their efforts, Wolmer’s were kept in check by two outstanding defenders in co-captains Odane Samuels and Lamar Stewart. The no-nonsense Samuels was once again given the marking job on the dangerous Jaheel Hyde and he did so admirably, winning that battle and the war for Charlie Smith.

The final whistle was met by loud shouts of joy for Charlie Smith as the players celebrated while the Wolmer’s players sank to the turf in disappointment tearfully exiting the Manning Cup once again.

Winning coach Jerome Waite, who hugged everyone in sight, said it was a good feeling, ‘tipping his hat’ to his players for another gutsy performance.

“We had played them already and we saw where the strength of this Wolmer’s team is and we knew that once you nullify their offence we need to just take it to them in attack, and that we did well today,” said Waite.