Jamaica College (JC) crowned themselves triple champions of senior schoolboy football this season when they defeated daCosta Cup champions Rusea’s High 3-2 in the Olivier Shield match at the National Stadium on Saturday.

For JC Head Coach Miguel Coley it has been a fantastic five, having won both the Manning Cup and Olivier Shield for the five consecutive years that he has been in charge.

“It’s fantastic. To be the first team to have won five Olivier Shield straight and five Manning Cup straight, you can’t ask for better. I think this is our best year since I have been at Jamaica College, because it is the first time that we have won three bonafide tournaments in terms of the Walker Cup, the Olivier Shield and the Manning Cup. The first time we did that (win the triple) was in 2014 when we won the Super Cup and not the Walker Cup, so I am very happy about this.”

The win over Rusea’s was not straightforward, however, as the team from Hanover was able to come back into the game after going behind twice. JC went ahead through a strike from Tevin Rochester three minutes after the half-time break, but substitute Jhavoy Dias brought Rusea’s level in the 64th minute. JC thought they had the game in the bag when Shaniel Thomas put them 2-1 up, but it was the diminutive Dias, who would send the game into extra time when he headed home a free kick at the near post in the fourth minute of added time.

It was left to Norman Campbell to seal the win in the third minute of extra time, and Coley believes his team was generous in letting their opponents back into the contest on both occasions.

“I don’t think we were that pushed against Rusea’s; I think that we found a way to get them back in. I think when we were on top we should have scored more goals. We gave away the ball in some areas that we shouldn’t. Rusea’s is a very good team, a well-coached team, and I am happy that we came out victorious.”

Mental toughness was the reason for the win, said the coach that has presided over a team that somehow always finds a way to win.

“We have the mentality and that is what football is about. When all things are even it is always about the mentality and we have developed that from the first game, telling them this is what you need to do in moments like these and look at situations in training which became very beneficial to us now,” he said.

However, with just about everything won at this level, this season appears to be the swansong for Coley, who is weighing his options as offers to go abroad are now on the table.

“You never leave Jamaica College, but in terms of coaching there is an offer in Iran that I am looking at; there is an offer from another country that I am looking at also, so it’s all about making the best decision for my family. I will sit down with the management staff and the school principal (at JC) and discuss where we move from here. So, yes, there are some options to start training in August in Dubai; we have a camp there so hopefully I make that decision.”

Despite his coy answers at first Coley did admit that he was looking at taking up an option to reunite with former Jamaica senior head coach, Winfried Schaefer.

“Yes, it is to go with Schaefer, that is an option we have now, so I will sit with the management staff. There is a country that I should take over and there is a club also,” he revealed.

“I am happy, Jamaica College is my home, we will make the best decision going forward,” Coley concluded.

Having conquered local high school football, the time is now right for the JC head man to take on a new challenge.