A lone goal by Mikel Graham ensured that Wolmer’s Boys’ School extended their unbeaten run in the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/FLOW Manning Cup competition, as they clipped Kingston Technical 1-0 in Group E action at Heroes Circle yesterday.

Graham’s 23rd-minute hit propelled Wolmer’s Boys’ to a fifth straight win and maximum 15 points, as they continue to sit handsomely at the top of the six-team table. They have now netted 16 times and are yet to concede.

Three-time champions Camperdown High continue to give chase in second place on 12 points following a 4-0 beating of Dunoon Technical at Alpha Institute, while Jose Marti Technical blanked Edith Dalton James 3-0 in the other group fixture at Duhaney Park.

At Heroes Circle, it was the dangerous-looking Kingston Technical unit that dictated terms in the early exchanges with a few warning shots that either came back off the crossbar or went straight at Shamar Jemison in goal for Wolmer’s.

However, the hosts gradually settled into their game and wasted very little time in finding some range. In the 22nd minute, the diminutive and silky Andrew Daley dismissed his marker and struck a beautiful right-footed shot from a distance. His powerfully driven shot left custodian Sheldon Shields beaten, but the ball failed to dip sufficiently and came rocketing off the crossbar.

Daley’s despair immediately turned into celebration a minute later when Graham got on the receiving end of a right-sided cross from Alphanso Gooden and expertly placed his shot wide of Shields who could only retrieve the ball from the net.

The score would remain unchanged at the break, after Gooden’s free kick from the top of the arch came back off the horizontal.

Wolmer’s maintained the ascendancy on the resumption and applied consistent pressure through Daley with a few nippy plays on the right channel which opened up the opponents’ defence on a number of occasions. But poor decision making, coupled with a lack of conviction in the final third denied them the opportunity to widen the advantage.

Winning coach Vassel Reynolds welcomed the three points, but was slightly disappointed with the display from the attacking force.

“This one was an ugly one but it’s early days still and we expect games like this. One would expect a little bit better today (yesterday), certainly we would have created a number of chances and I think we were a bit sloppy, but such is the nature of the game and the result is good for us,” he told journalists in a post-game interview.

“All in all we are pleased, 16 goals and maximum points from five games in the first round that was one of our objectives and thankfully we would have achieved our objective,” Reynolds added.

His counterpart Lebert Halliman was more pleased with the effort of his charges, despite the loss.

“I thought it was a good performance from the boys, but I think we were let down by faulty shooting. We got a lot of chances and hit the post and failed to score. That has been haunting us all season, but I guess it’s the start of a long journey so we go back to the drawing board and work harder going forward,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Yesterday’s results

Group C

Kingston College 7, Norman Manley 0

Papine 0, Denham Town 1

St Mary’s College 3, Ascot 2

Group D

Pembroke Hall 0, Jonathan Grant 2

St Catherine 1, Haile Selassie 0

Group F

Wolmer’s Boys’ 1, Kingston Tech 0

Camperdown 4, Dunoon Tech 0

Edith Dalton James 0, Jose Marti 3

Group G

Cumberland 0, St Jago 3

Bridgeport 3, Campion College 0

Hydel 2, Calabar 1