ST George’s College (STGC) signalled both a return to form and intent when they spanked Ardenne High six-nil in their Zone A opener in the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Digicel Manning Cup at Sabina Park late on Saturday.

After a woeful campaign last season during which they suffered some unusually heavy defeats, the “Light Blues” prepared much better for this campaign and showed they were ready with a polished first-half performance that saw them score all their goals and put the game to bed without much fuss.

The pair of Joshua Jackson and Brian Burkett scored a brace each in the STGC rout as Bertis Bell’s boys outdid their Kingston College rivals who hit five past Calabar High in their 5-1 win in the other Manning Cup game played earlier in the day.

STGC Assistant Coach Marcel Gayle was expectedly full of praises for his boys, who opened the season in fine style.

“Well done to the boys! I thought they played from minute one to minute ninety, and we couldn’t ask them for more.

“We got six goals in the first half but we didn’t score any in the second half. The most important thing is that we got a clean sheet,” he said.

He also praised Ardenne for a much better second-half performance.

“We tried to keep the ball and we tried to break them down but in the final third we didn’t get that elusive goal in the second half.

“Nevertheless, I thought they played well and kudos to Ardenne; I thought they played well. They made the adjustments in the second half. They stayed behind the ball and gave us a challenge but I thought we did well. We opened up their backline, we got quite a number of crosses, but there was no end product in the second half.”

Gayle was cautious about overstating the readiness of his team to go all the way in the competition after just one match.

“We don’t want to toot our own horns too early because it’s a very tough group we are in. We just want to take a game at a time but definitely, we are more competitive this year.

“We are more senior this year; we got the preseason started a lot earlier this year. But, we want to focus and take it a game at a time and improve where we can improve and strengthen the areas that are weak,” he reasoned.

With both North Street schools registering big wins on Saturday, it has only added fuel to an already raging fire as expectations heighten ahead of the first of their two clashes in the first round of the competition. Gayle, who has been a part of the STGC programme for a decade now, is all too aware of what is ahead.

“It’s a derby that goes back for decades and it’s always fun when these two teams go at it. KC brings out the best out of George’s and George’s brings the best out of KC.”

Their first meeting will be on Saturday, September 24 at Winchester Park, with the return game set for Saturday October 15th at Stadium East field.

— Dwayne Richards