St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) missed an opportunity to end the unbeaten run of Jamaica College (JC) in the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup competition when they spurned numerous chances to score early in the game from “gifts” presented by their opponents in their final quarter-final group game last Friday.

With STATHS employing an intense press and JC unusually sloppy in possession at the back, the team from Bumper Hall were able to force the “True Blue” into turning over the ball but failed to make the opportunities count.

The many-times champions JC were able to overcome those early errors and come away 1-0 winners through a second-half strike from Marquan Aldridge to win the group. STATHS finished second.

STATHS head coach Phillip Williams explained that members of his team had been struck down with the flu, but said that his players had also looked a gift horse in the mouth nonetheless.

“We were lacking in energy and that is partly because three-quarters of the squad is down with the flu bug that is going around and affecting most of the footballers in the Manning Cup.

“But the part that really cost us the game – we were gifted with some goals in the first half based on our press and JC gave us some balls based on our press, which I think if we were clinical enough and put away those chances, even when we lost some amount of energy, we would have already had something on the board to defend.”

Williams did suggest that the flu had cost them playing the way they are known to play.

“STATHS this season has been playing open football. We don’t put any restrictions on the boys, we ask them to express themselves, but today we were lacking in energy.

“Of course, JC is a quality team who possesses the ball very well so that will take some energy out of them, but there is nothing much I can fault them for where that is concerned because it’s not their fault.

“If we had put away our chances probably the game would have been a little bit different.”

STATHS have now qualified for their fifth consecutive Manning Cup semifinals under coach Williams, and after coming close in 2017 and 2019, where they went to the final and lost to JC twice, the focus is solely on the big prize despite whatever else is on offer.

“Our immediate concern is to get the players healthy and back up to full strength. We rested a number of players, some because of the flu, some because we think that we really pushed them in the last game.

“The Champions Cup is a celebration for the boys to have reached this far. I don’t know how much value we’ll place on that. Our eyes are firmly on the Manning Cup,” he explained.

Williams has been at the helm at STATHS since 2017 and is itching to get his hands on the trophy that the school has won only once, in 1987. They will play reigning champions Kingston College in the semifinals a week from today.