IT may have been a spur of the moment call, but if the confidence exuded by Kingston College Head Coach Ludlow Bernard is anything to go by, then their names are already etched on the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Digicel Manning Cup title for the next two years.

Bernard placed rivals on early notice with a bold prediction that his North Street-based team will reclaim the urban area Manning Cup next year and the following year, as the experience gathered this season, coupled with their vast potential and quality, will propel them ahead everyone else.

The tactician staked the early claim after his youthful bunch, said to be averaging just over 16 years old, edged a much-talked-about Clarendon College unit 1-0 in a mouth-watering ISSA Champions Cup final at National Stadium on Saturday.

The all-important strike came delightfully from the right boot of the left-foot dominant player Ronaldo Robinson in the 63rd minute. It ensured that the dethroned Manning Cup champions ended another season with at least one silverware for a fourth-consecitive year under Bernard’s leadership.

A beaming Bernard welcomed that accomplishment, having won the Walker Cup in 2016; the Champions Cup (then named the Super Cup) in 2017; and last year’s Manning Cup triumph, breaking a drought which lasted over 30 years.

“It is always good to win trophies. Since I have been here at Kingston College, I have been winning every year and it is good that I can come here and deliver. I don’t want to leave the fans disappointed; I know they were disappointed with the Manning Cup [semi-final loss], but I am very proud of these boys.

“This is a fantastic group of boys. A lot of them will be returning next year and there are a lot of replacements for all of them. So Kingston College will be in good standing come next season,” Bernard told reporters during a post-game interview on Saturday.

“I told them last [Friday] night that Kingston College will win Manning Cup 2020 and 2021. That is the prediction I made because I am seeing a set of boys that is very committed to the game. Again, I thought they were very unlucky to be ousted out of the Manning Cup, but such is life. We are grateful for the Champions Cup; it is indeed a prestige trophy, symbolic of national supremacy,” he added.

Bernard also reflected on the fact that his Kingston College team is now the first to win this knockout title twice — an achievement he believes will stick with the players.

“It is very significant that we got that achievement as well because we are all about getting the boys to perform and to do their best. So now they can return to school and focus on their academics because we are hoping that we can engage the ones that are leaving with scholarships next year,” Bernard noted.

The tone in which Bernard praised his team for the performance which saw them exacting revenge of sorts on Clarendon College, who conquered them in last year’s Olivier Shield play-off tie by a similar margin, was one of pride as Kingston College were expected to again play second fiddle to their Chapelton-based opponents.

But the tactical aggression and defensive discipline of Kingston College saw them outplaying Lenny Hyde’s side, which gave its best showing on the attacking front too late. It proved Clarendon’s College’s undoing.

“I knew it was going to be a tough game, one in which we were not expected to have bulk of the possession because Clarendon College has very gifted players, technically. Not that our players aren’t gifted, but we are limited in midfield.

“So we played to our strength; strong defence and good counter attacking skill. That is what we have been playing all along and that is what we employed here today [Saturday],” Bernard reasoned.

“But most importantly, it is the discipline that was demanded of these boys to deal with this team that stood out because it is a very good Clarendon College team. This win required precise movements, positioning, all the works and so all we wanted was one goal because we know that this team can defend one goal,” he ended.