Seasoned schoolboy football coaches Ludlow Bernard of Kingston College (KC) and Leebert Halliman of Excelsior High are both hoping for good quarter-final showings, after their respective schools advanced to that round of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup on Saturday.

The defending Manning Cup champions KC had a pretty straightforward win on Saturday, beating Vauxhall High 3-0 to advance 6-1 on aggregate, while Excelsior were given an almighty scare by Jonathan Grant before booking their passage with a 4-2 aggregate win.

The champions were led to victory by a brace from Tyrese Williams, who scored either side of half-time, and a final-minute penalty from Ajay Stewart who put the icing on the cake as they eased their way past Vauxhall.

For Ludlow Bernard, the showing from his team was exactly what the doctor ordered.

“That is the level we want to get them [players] to in all aspects of the game. I want us to be in control of our own game. It annoys me whenever we lose our composure and we give away the ball unnecessarily,” he said.

With quite a number of new players in his squad it has been a learning process for the team, but Bernard thinks they are just about where they need to be at this time.

“I think we have a very good system; the players are buying into it every day and we are hoping that our principles will advance us to victories,” Bernard suggested.

He talked up the chances of KC advancing from what promises to be a very competitive quarter-final group, which includes Wolmer’s Boys’, Camperdown High, and Charlie Smith High.

“I am very optimistic…we would have seen them already and know what they are capable of doing. They are good football-playing teams, but at the same time we are very dilligent in what we do,” he noted.

“We are trying to be very strong defensively, because I think at the end of the day that is what is going to determine our fate,” he added.

Meanwhile last year’s Walker Cup runners-up Excelsior were made to sweat bullets by Jonathan Grant, despite heading into their return-leg game at Winchester Park with a 3-0 lead.

Jonathan Grant scored in the first minute of the game through Jevaun Gayle to reduce the deficit to two, and when Jaheim Jones scored with a screamer of a free kick in the 32nd minute, it was then a deficit of just one and game on.

But just as he did in the first leg, Aseany Richards scored for Excelsior in the 63rd minute to calm the nerves of the Eagles and ensure their safe passage to the ‘quarters’.

Halliman blamed a slow start for the pickle his team found themselves in during the first sixty-odd minutes of the game.

“I think we started out slowly. Our plan was to kick up the hill first and ensure that we don’t give up any goals, but we gave up two,” he said.

Halliman, however, remained optimistic that his boys would eventually get the job done.

“Once we were going down the hill, I was confident that we were going to pull back one, and we did it. At the end of the day, we are victorious.”

While Bernard spoke with great optimism about making the semi-final round, Halliman was a bit more measured in his expectations.

“I am in the group of death with JC (Jamaica College), St George’s and St Andrew Technical, so we will have to spend some time analysing those teams and hopefully we can try a thing,” he said.

Excelsior suffered from a late start to their preparation for the competition, but Halliman is hopeful they are rounding into shape at the right time.

“We have a young team, but hopefully we will take it one step at a time. You never know. We are just getting to 100 per cent fit [so] hopefully that can take us through,” said the veteran coach.

The quarter-final round of the Manning Cup is expected to get going this week.