Semi-final bound!
Kingston College (KC) defeated champions Jamaica College (JC) 2-0 to guarantee a place in the semi-finals of the ISSA/FLOW Manning Cup competition at the Stadium East Field yesterday.
Goals either side of half-time from the tournament’s leading scorer Rashawn Mackison and midfielder Fabian Grant enabled the “Famed Purples” to hand JC their first loss in the competition since 2011.
The game was only three minutes old when Mackison got the opener, latching on to a pass from Renato Campbell before steering beyond Derland Hyatt and the into the left corner of the net.
The champions showed that they were made of stern stuff and dominated the latter stage of the first half from which they should have scored. They were only denied by the brilliance of KC goalkeeper Chadeem Rodriques, who pulled off three brilliant saves in a matter of moments to keep his team in front.
KC went into the break a goal to the good, with the JC faithful wondering how they had not replied to the early KC opener.
The second half belonged to KC as they dominated possession in midfield and created most of the chances in the second 45 minutes.
Mackison had a glorious chance to add to his first-half strike after another brilliant pass from Campbell picked him out just inside the box, but the JC custodian was able to pounce on the rebound after blocking the initial shot with his body.
Moments later Mackison had yet another chance, this time after being picked out by Grant, but his tame effort was easy for the grateful Hyatt.
The KC striker made up for his misses in front of goal by being on hand to clear a goal-bound effort from Shaniel Thomas after a JC free kick.
JC failed to trouble Rodriques after that, but it was the JC custodian, Hyatt, who was left with egg on his face after allowing a tame drive from Grant to slip beyond his grasp and into the net with just six minutes left to play.
“Our intention was to come for a victory here today and let the chips fall where they may. It wasn’t a pretty game, but it was a battling game. We are, however, very cautious in our approach and quietly confident of what we can achieve,” said KC Coach Ludlow Bernard.
“They were better than us today. The early goal set us back, but I think we had some chances, especially in the first half, but we were unable to capitalise on them. Congrats to KC; they did what they had to do,” said a gracious Miguel Coley, who was losing a Manning Cup game for the first time as JC head coach.
Both teams have advanced to the semi-finals of the competition, but will now turn their attention to the Walker Cup, which begins on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Holy Trinity booked a date with Jamaica College after defeating St Catherine High 2-0 to win their group. The other game in the group between St George’s College and St Andrew Technical High School will on be played November 14 after their game ended 0-0.
Also, already eliminated Bridgeport High School stopped Calabar High School 3-1 after going behind early at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.
— Dwayne Richards