Rusea’s blank Haile Selassie 3-0 to advance
CATHERINE HALL, St James — Rusea’s High School advanced to the second round of the FLOW Super Cup competition after they blitzed Haile Selassie High 3-0 in a first-round matchup of two first-timers at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Saturday night.
Leonardo Fogarthy, Nazime Matalie with a candidate for goal of the competition, and Ranaldo Thompson scored for Rusea’s High in the first half to give the Aaron Lawrence-coached team a perfect start, while denying the Geoffrey Maxwell-coached team.
It was a good night for daCosta Cup teams as St Elizabeth Technical High School came from behind three times and scored twice in a matter of minutes in a seven-goal (4-3) thriller over Holy Trinity in the first game of the double-header, while Clarendon College shocked two-time finalists, Jamaica College at Sabina Park.
Rusea’s High scored all three goals in the first 37 minutes on Saturday before holding off an improved Haile Selassie in the second half, to set up what looks to be a fierce clash against long-time rivals Cornwall College in the quarter-finals next Saturday at Catherine Hall, after STETHS face Bridgeport High for a place in the last four.
The fans had barely got over the dramatics the in first game and had just settled into their seats when Leonardo Fogarthy scored in the second minute to give the Hanover school the lead. Then a 35-yard bomb from Nazime Matalie in the 17th minute doubled the advantage before Thompson converted a penalty in the 37th minute.
Lawrence said his team took their foot off the gas in the second half after establishing the big lead. “We protected what we had, we can’t run hard for 90 minutes,” he reasoned. “We consolidated after a brilliant first half and the players were playing to a plan.”
Lawrence admitted he was “expecting more” from the Manning Cup team.
Maxwell took the blame on himself for his team’s loss, admitting it was the first time this season they were outplayed, but said they were better in the second half after he changed formation to 4-3-3 when he said “we got more input and had some chances”.
The experienced coach said, “We were not playing in the first half, we were just on the field existing,” he said, but added that they had to rebound quickly as they had St George’s College in the Walker Cup coming up soon.
