St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) were dead and buried after the first round of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup competition. But after being given a lifeline after the dismissal of Camperdown High and Tivoli Gardens High from the competition by ISSA for the use of ineligible players, they grabbed the opportunity with two hands on Friday.

In their first game of the quarterfinals, they stunned the St Catherine High team 4-1 to give themselves a real chance to making the semifinals of the competition.

Head coach, Phillip Williams, revealed that getting the boys mentally ready to play and being out and then put back in was an easy one.

“They know that the project that we have is a long-term project and their mind is into the programme and the ideas that we have sold them that we will be doing over the next three seasons.

“So, to get them in a frame of mind to play wasn’t hard because they see every chance that they get as an experience to develop themselves.”

He believes that the win on Friday will impact the team beyond just this season.

“This is a very young team and to get a win at the quarterfinal stage is very good for their development.”

STATHS has been to this stage of the competition for the last four seasons and Williams believes that his coaching staff has the capacity to take his team to the final four.

“The coaching staff is a very experienced one in terms of accumulating points at this level. It’s for us now to impart our knowledge to the boys and see how best we can navigate, through this tricky stage of the competition.

“We know that we need (more) points and we will be planning our session in terms of how to go about gathering those points.”

The 2019 finalists have been throwing away games from winning positions this season, so Williams was happy that they were able to see out the game against St Catherine.  

“It’s a very young defensive line with two fifteen-year-old players around there. In terms of how they played and the maturity that they showed, along with the others is very pleasing.

“STATHS is known for our defensive capabilities and definitely this is a good look for us going forward. We have a solid defensive base to build our attacking plays on,” he said.

Their goalkeeper Shamar Grant got injured during the game but soldiered on bravely to help secure the win and Williams in convinced that performances of that nature will help mold the team into the unit he wants them to become.

“What he did, you cannot put value to it in terms of the effect it will have on the boys’ development. It’s not just about winning but there are other small stories that take place on the field. I think that is one of them that we are going to learn from and continue to develop for the future.”

STATHS will face their old nemesis Jamaica College in their next quarterfinal game at the Stadium East Field tomorrow.