DUE to heavy rain and lightning, Referee Keble Williams said he had no choice but to call off the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association/Digicel Manning Cup match between Campion College and Excelsior with 16 minutes remaining on the clock on Thursday.

The teams were locked at 0-0 in the Group F encounter when rain interrupted play in the 74th minute, bringing a premature end to what was an exciting, ding-dong battle.

Williams said he would have to submit a report to ISSA detailing the reason for the stoppage of the match, and then from there a final ruling would decide the outcome.

“I had to call off the match because of the weather conditions. I couldn’t tell where the lightning was coming from and also visibility was poor as we couldn’t see properly. I would say a waterlogged pitch was the main reason for calling off the game,” Williams told the Jamaica Observer.

It was an even start to the contest for both Campion and Excelsior as they both showed composure in possession of the ball. As the game progressed, Excelsior took control of the match and began to dominate their opponents.

The attacking unit created goalscoring opportunities but they failed to find the back of the net from set pieces, close-range strikes, as well as shots from long distance.

Campion had a few chances of their own but, in the end, they also had no luck breaking the deadlock.

Excelsior went straight on the attack on the resumption but, again, their forwards lacked the finishing touch. Campion came close to glory but Bryan Mayhew saw his low, powerful strike from 25 yards out brilliantly saved by Michael Clarke in goal for Excelsior.

Xavier Gilbert, Excelsior’s head coach, said that the outcome of the match should not affect his team’s chances of topping the group.

“Well, we are still unbeaten; Campion are still unbeaten. We were atop of the group heading into this game and I think that we should still be on top — even if Kingston Technical wins or any other of the teams — but we will see how it goes. We just want to ensure that we continue on this path [of] trying not to lose any games going forward and top the group,” Gilbert said.