Unfancied Kingston Technical (KT) increased their chances of advancing to the second round of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association Manning Cup after a hard-fought, come-from-behind 3-1 victory over hosts Tivoli Gardens High on Thursday.

KT were led to victory courtesy of a double from Captain Alwayne Bennett in the 45th and 53rd minute. Quewayne Hudson netted KT’s third goal in the 88th minute.

Ryan-Oniel Francis scored in the 14th minute of the match for Tivoli, who were suffering their first defeat in six games this season.

KT, who remain third in Zone B, are on 15 points, one behind the leaders Tivoli.

Defending champions Jamaica College (JC) are second on 15 points with a game in hand. Spanish Town High have five points, followed by Meadowbrook High on four and Cumberland High on three.

Francis Murray, the Kingston Technical coach, said he was very delighted with his team’s performance.

“Coming into the game, we were very determined that we were going to leave this match with something, and that was the mindset of the team and we fought for every ball and so I am happy that we came away with all three points,” said Murray.

“After going down one-nil we threw caution to the wind and we decided to fight for everything, hence the result. This is a massive win for us because it has kept us in contention for a place in the second round and that is what we are aiming for this season,” he said.

Christopher Nicholas, the Tivoli Gardens coach, said his team failed to play according to his instructions.

“We switched off and we gave up a silly second goal which cost us the match,” said Nicholas.

“We just have come again because we are still the group leaders, so we just need to handle our business in the next match against JC,” he said.

Francis gave Tivoli the lead when he headed home from point-blank range past KT’s custodian Jahiem Orr much to the delight of the home fans. Tivoli went on to dominate the remainder of the first half but they failed to increase their advantage.

However, as the first half was coming to a close, KT were awarded a penalty when the ball was handled by a Tivoli defender inside the 18-yard box. Bennett stepped up to fire home the equaliser from the spot.

Bennett, who had an excellent match, gave KT the lead eight minutes into the second half with a powerfully struck, 35-yard effort which went straight through the hands of the goalkeeper.

Tivoli tried desperately to get back into the game but they were let down by poor finishing. Hudson then sealed the victory for KT two minutes from full time when he scored from close range.