WHILE Shane Michael Gage, head coach of the Norman Manley High School football team, was not thrilled with his team’s performance versus Holy Trinity he was glad for the win, as they try to slip through the cracks and advance to the next round of the ISSA Manning Cup competition.

Competing with nine players for more than half-hour, Norman Manley beat 10-man Holy Trinity 3-0 in their Zone E match on Friday at Maxfield Park. Garfield Williams scored in the 22nd minute, then Chevaugh Rennie (60th minute), and goalie Ranaldo Johnson from the penalty spot in the 63rd minute ensured Norman Manley took all three points.

Norman Manley’s Odane Barrett and Antonio Mitchell, along with Holy Trinity’s Jamar Rowe, were sent off in the 56th minute for unruly behaviour.

Norman Manley improved to 12 points after eight games, trailing leader Mona (24 points) and St Catherine High (18 points). Mona and St Catherine High each played eight games. Mona defeated St Catherine High 2-0 in their encounter, also on Friday.

Eltham High has already qualified for the next round as one of the best third-place finishers. They finished third in Zone C with 19 points and cannot be surpassed by any other team. Kingston Technical is the next team in line for the best third-place finish, with 18 points and one game remaining in Zone B.

For Norman Manley to have any chance of progressing to the next round they would have to win their remaining two games and win large while also hoping that St Catherine High and Kingston Technical lose their remaining games. Then goal differential comes into play.

“It all depends on calculations. Honestly, I am not a fan of the new system that we use for my zone as I would prefer a home and away system but I think we are at a disadvantage. But, nonetheless, the organisers will have to do a calculation and do an average, and then we will know where we stand from there,” Gage told the Jamaica Observer.

Holy Trinity head coach, Nicholas Smith, shared his team’s frustration with their performance on the field but decided to use the experience as a learning curve moving forward.

“The performance was not good but we are at the end of the season. We had many challenges this season but I am proud of the players. We stuck out, we never missed a game, and no matter how rough things got we were able to represent ourselves and our school well,” he said.