ST Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) booked their spot in yet another Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Digicel Manning Cup semi-final, after coming from behind to secure a crucial 1-1 stalemate against nine-man Mona High in the decisive Group One quarter-final encounter at Ashenheim Stadium yesterday.

Namar Nelson got the all-important equaliser in the 69th minute after Keneldo Brown’s 27th-minute strike sent Mona High in front.

The Craig Butler-coached Mona High lost Carlton Brown in the 63rd minute to a straight red card for an off-the-ball incident, before Ronaldo Jones — who was earlier cautioned in the 60th — was shown a second yellow by Referee Oshane Nation in the 77th minute.

With the point, STATHS progressed to their fourth-straight Manning Cup semi-final on four points, same as Mona but with a better goal difference.

The Spanish Town Road-based school ended with a plus-two goal difference to Mona’s one, to join defending champions Jamaica College in the final four.

JC defeated the pointless St Catherine High 3-1 in the other Group contest at Stadium East to end with maximum nine points.

Tarick Ximinies (52nd), Alex Hislop (59th) and Jaheem Fraser (78th) did the damage for the Old Hope Road-based school, while Nickyle Ellis got St Catherine’s consolation through an 88th-minute penalty.

Davion Ferguson’s JC will meet the Group Two runner-up — Excelsior, Charlie Smith or Kingston Technical — while STATHS will renew their rivalry with Kingston College (KC) who have all but secured top honours.

KC (six points) will meet Excelsior (three points) at Ashenheim Stadium, with Charlie Smith (three points) squaring off against Kingston Technical at Stadium East today. Both games are scheduled for 3:00 pm.

Yesterday’s contest between STATHS and Mona was always expected to be a feisty encounter, especially with the coveted semi-final spot on the line.

Both teams started purposefully and looked threatening in open play, creating a number of half-chances — but both failed to make them count.

Keneldo Brown eventually broke the deadlock with a tidy finish to push Mona on the verge of a semi-final berth for the first time in many moons, as they defied STATHS’s marauding attack to maintain their lead at the break.

STATHS, sensing the danger of missing out, upped their tempo on the resumption and it took a decent save from Mona’s custodian Akeem Bernard to deny Omar Reid’s left-footed effort from deep inside the box, eight minutes in.

Things got ugly on the hour mark as there was a war of words between members of the coaching staff and supporters of both teams that spilled over on the field as Carlton Brown seemingly headbutted an opponent in Mona’s defensive third ahead of a STATHS free kick.

Phillip Williams’ side made the numerical advantage count from another set play when Richard Livingston’s weighted free kick was helped on by Reid deep inside the 18-yard box for Nelson to finish from close range.

After conceding what turned out to be the decisive goal, things got worse for Mona when Jones was shown a second yellow card.

Still, Mona fought on and applied some amount of pressure in their hunt for the elusive winner, but STATHS’s defenders were in a defiant mood.

Yesterday’s results

Group One

Jamaica College 3, St Catherine 1

STATHS 1, Mona High 1

Today’s games

Group Two

Kingston College vs Excelsior @ Ashenheim Stadium @ 3:00 pm

Charlie Smith vs Kingston Technical @ Stadium East @ 3:00 pm