After missing out on a quarter-final place in the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup, through the lottery of penalty kicks, Excelsior High School Coach Daniel Riley is bent on ending the season with silverware by way of the ISSA/Digicel Walker Cup.

Riley was particularly pleased with the second-half performance of his boys as they got the better of Denham Town High 2-0 in the quarter-final round at Stadium East field on Thursday.

Hot and blustery conditions made it difficult for play in the early afternoon, but Excelsior were able to take full advantage of the breeze at their backs in the second half to put in a display worthy of getting them into the semi-finals.

A brace from Damornay Hutchinson, who was a livewire up front, got the job done for Excelsior, who are now just 90 minutes away from the final.

Riley was thankful for the win as they pursue their last shot at glory for the 2018 season.

“Most definitely we give thanks for the victory; it’s the Walker Cup, and it’s only three games based on the schedule, so now we are in the semi-finals.

“Today’s performance was good, hats off to the players. We played a better second half than the first. In the first half we went against the wind and it took us some time to really get the ball on the floor and try and play some football.

“Then the second half they realised they can play much better, and they are better than the Denham Town team, so they took the initiative and went ahead and got the goals early. So we give thanks for that,” he said.

Still distressed about exiting the Manning Cup, Riley is throwing everything into taking home the Walker Cup to 137 Mountain View Avenue.

“These boys have quality; it is unfortunate the way how we got out of the Manning Cup, but we know that we are a quality team, so we know that it’s either or either. We are definitely one of the contenders for this one, so we assert that position and we are going after it with all guns out.”

Both goals scored by Hutchinson were from close range; one a rebound after the Denham Town goalkeeper failed to collect the ball properly, and second a tap in from two yards and it comes as no surprise to his coach who has encouraged goal poaching by the striker.

“We always try and see if we can get those type of goals, because it is not only one on one situation that a forward can score. Someone can take a shot to the goal, and once you get a rebound you can score just the same, so we encourage him to go for the second ball and that is what he did today.”

For his part, Hutchinson was grateful that his preseason efforts were paying off in a big way for his team and he is confident of winning the trophy.

“I am very pleased, because I put in the hard work throughout the summer. This Walker Cup is very important to me and to my teammates. We missed out on the Manning Cup and the Champions Cup, but we are ready to go and get the Walker Cup. We are confident of our chances in the Walker Cup and we will win it.”

The other quarter-final winners on Thursday were St Catherine High, who easily brushed aside Calabar High 3-0.

St Catherine Head Coach Anthony Patrick was pleased with the dominant performance by his players, but thought they should have scored more goals.

“We gave them (Calabar) an early opportunity when the game began, but they muffed it, and from there, on we took control of the game. We should have gained the ascendency from the first half, but we didn’t. We started to play in the second half and took full control of the game. The victory should have been by a wider margin but we are pleased that we are in the semi-finals.”

— Dwayne Richards