Charlie Smith High School greeted Clan Carty High to the 2016 ISSA/FLOW Manning Cup Schoolboy football season with a 4-0 drubbing at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex yesterday.

Tyrick Reid scored goals in the 45th and 51st minutes, while Zemaria Sinclair in the 72nd and Omario Fisher in the 90th+2 completed the scoring to keep Charlie Smith atop the five-team Group E standing on six points.

The match got off to a late start with both teams looking to seize the initiate, but it was the more seasoned Charlie Smith who asserted themselves by taking more shots to goal, though they just could not beat the Clan Carty goalkeeper D’Andre Thompson for the better part of the first half.

However, on the stroke of half-time, Reid struck from close range after running on to a pass from Kemar James on the wing.

Six minutes into the second half, Reid was at it again and lashed a right-footed shot past Thompson for his second after running past a Clan Carty defence which began to look ragged.

The raggedness continued but the Charlie Smith players failed to take advantage of the numerous opportunities that lay at their feet. It was not until with just under 30 minutes remaining that left-sided defender Sinclair made it 3-0, and skipper Fisher closed the game with the fourth in time added.

Coach Jerome Waite was nonchalant at game’s end. “It was a good win to take three points, but as you can see we still have a far way to go just yet. It is a young team and physically, strength-wise, and technically, we are still off the pace. It is early days yet and there is room for improvement and we will continue to work in that direction to improve as we go along.”

Wayne Blake, Clan Carty’s first-time head coach, said: “I am pleased with the showing of this young team. We played without seven of our better players who are not yet available. But we are continuing to work with the group we have and will get better results with time.”