Manning Cup quarter-finalists decided after thrilling second-leg matches
Last season’s beaten semi-finalists Kingston College (KC) cruised into the quarter-finals of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup after whipping Campion College 4-1 in the second leg to advance 7-3 on aggregate.
In the first leg, the North Street-based boys had to pull off a late comeback to win 3-2.
However, they had no such issues this time around with Demario Daley and Alex Hislop scoring two goals each for KC to put them through, much to the satisfaction of Head Coach Vassell Reynolds.
“We wanted to continue where we left off in the first leg [where] we had an excellent last 25 minutes, and you saw it today. We came out really energised and got the all-important goal, which was part of the plan,” said Reynolds.
After a scoreless first leg, reigning Walker Cup champions Tivoli Gardens also secured a rare berth in the last eight with a 2-1 second-leg win over Haile Selassie.
Head Coach Christopher Nicholas was happy with his team’s determination and effort.
“I’m very pleased. As you can see, these boys fight and gave everything. Selassie is a very good team and we all know that. [They] finished top of their group and do what they’re supposed to do coming into this round, so we expected a tough fight, and I’m very pleased,” said Nicholas.
Meanwhile, Jamaica College (JC) continued their quest to retain their title after a 3-1 win over Eltham to advance 6-1 on aggregate. Last season’s beaten finalists St Andrew Technical (STATHS) demolished Kingston Technical 7-0 to advance 11-0 on aggregate, and 2022 beaten semi-finalists Mona High thrashed Jonathan Grant 6-1 to make it 10-1 on aggregate.
St George’s College, Hydel, and St Catherine also made progress to the last eight.
The quarter-final round kicks off this weekend with Group 1 consisting of STATHS, Mona, KC, and St Catherine, while Group 2 has JC, St George’s, Hydel, and Tivoli.
Along with a quarter-final place, the eight winners also qualified for the all-island Champions Cup knockout competition.
The eight losing teams from the second round (Campion, Wolmer’s, Excelsior, Kingston Technical, St Jago, Eltham, Jonathan Grant, and Haile Selassie) will now focus on the Walker Cup knockout competition.
