KINGSTON, Jamaica— Kingston College secured their sixth win of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup campaign with a 3-0 thumping of Charlie Smith High in their first quarter-final match last Saturday.

Goals from their talisman Christopher Pearson in the first half and Ronardo Burgher and Demario McCarthy in the second ensured that the Purples got off to a good start in the second round of the competition.

But things could have been a lot different for Ludlow Bernard’s men had it not been for the heroics of David Martin who got in an early goal.

“We started rather shaky…but we really settled down as the game went on. We really did expect Charlie Smith to come at us early.

“We played them in the preseason and we drew 2-2 with them and they were very, very aggressive in their intent. But we worked them out and figured that once we can withstand this kind of pressure early and settle down and play the Kingston College game and wear them down, we figured that we would have a chance to win this game and that’s exactly what we did,” Bernard explained.

Bernard thought his players did not adapt quickly enough to the Charlie Smith tactics early in the game but was happy that they eventually worked things out in the end.

“Charlie Smith flooded the midfield and that made it a little bit difficult. I thought that we could have been a little bit more expansive and go for the wide areas a bit earlier and that would have really set us apart, but the effectiveness of our play really put them under pressure and hence created opportunities and chances from which we scored.”

The final goal of the game came in the 88

^th

 minute when McCarthy scored with a header from inside the six-yard box. It was a well-worked team goal and Bernard was happy with the concentration levels shown by his players.

“It’s always very good when you can score late goals because it shows that there is a rhythm and momentum of the team and that they will play right down to the 90

^th

 minute.”

Charlie Smith had their moments in the game but despite that, Bernard never lost confidence in his team’s ability to get the win.

“I was confident that despite Charlie Smith and their ventures, we were still in control of the game and our goalkeeper was really on top of his game. He, along with Christopher Pearson, really inspired the team.”

KC have been a solid defensive unit so far this season, conceding only once in 540 minutes of football.