Though leaving it for late, Calabar High mustered two second-half goals in defeating lowly placed Cumberland High 2-0 to hold on to fourth position in Group G of the ISSA/FLOW Manning Cup football competition on Red Hills Road Friday.

Calabar are now on 15 points.

It was the fifth-consecutive win for Calabar after losing their first four matches, and second-half substitute Herbert Morrison put the former three-time champions on their way with a 54th-minute strike.

Two minutes from time, another second-half substitute, Jashon Nash, gave the Lij Yasu Simms-coached team impetus to keep their slim chance alive in making it to the next round.

While Calabar were registering their fifth-consecutive win from nine matches, Cumberland were the exact opposite, losing their fifth-consecutive match from nine outings to remain one place from the bottom of the six-team group on six points.

Coach Simms was quite pleased with the win, but lamented his team’s below-par first half.

“[We] came out and played a little too relaxed and flat. We nevertheless returned for the second half and picked up the tempo, and in stepping up the tempo it bore fruits as we scored two goals.

“At present, our aim is to finish on 18 points [and] we are now on 15 points with one game remaining in the group. And our plan, therefore, is to finish strong and see where it takes us,” Simms added.

Opposing coach Ricardo Knight said that while he was disappointed by the loss, he saw potential in the team going forward.

“I saw hope in the team for the future as there were many good signs coming from this young team, although many were playing at this level for the first time.

“There were also a few who performed well, but the overall inexperience made us struggle, as when we got possession of the ball we gave it back to the opponents, and this meant that each time we gave up possession we were left chasing the game,” Knight noted.