Mona face Liberty Academy in Henriques Cup finale
MONA Prep will face Liberty Academy in today’s final of the Jamaica Independent Schools Association (JISA) Henriques Cup, as they look to take the first critical step towards a potential double-title success this season.
The match is scheduled to get underway at 2:00 pm at American International School of Kingston (AISK).
Mona, who are also in the semi-finals of the JISA Alberga Cup, will look to return to the top in the knockout competition and are already guaranteed an improvement on last year’s third-place finish in the Henriques Cup.
First-time finalists Liberty Academy have enjoyed a historic season, and the Hope Road-based school is determined to continue their Cinderella run after their surprise victory over preseason favourites Emmanuel Christian Academy (ECA) on Wednesday.
The 10th-ranked Liberty Academy survived a bruising contest in Wednesday’s clash against ECA at Maxfield Park Field, outlasting their opponents to win 2-0 with two extra-time goals.
It was another close match between the teams who were also drawn in the same preliminary round zone in the Alberga Cup competition, with that first-round match ending 1-0 in favour of ECA.
Mona enjoyed a similar 2-0 victory over fellow Alberga Cup semi-finalists Sts Peter and Paul Prep in the other Henriques Cup semi-final match, and will start huge favourites to secure their first silverware for the season.
In their previous meeting this season Mona hammered Liberty 5-0 in a game that propelled them into the Alberga Cup semi-finals at the expense of their opponents.
Liberty started their knockout campaign with a 6-0 win over St Hugh’s on November 20 before defeating Wolmer’s 2-1 in the second round.
They then eased past St Andrew Prep 3-0 in the quarter-final before getting their now-famous win over ECA in the semis.
Mona were also convincing in their run to the final, thumping Dunrobin 6-0 in the second round after their first-round bye before getting the better of Belair 4-0 in their quarter-final assignment.
In today’s third-place play-off ECA will play Sts Peter and Paul at 12:30, also at AISK.
The independent schools’ football season will continue next Wednesday with the playing of the Alberga Cup semi-finals.
In the first semi-final Hillel Academy will seek revenge against Sts Peter and Paul in their hunt for a first appearance in the final while Mona will come up against ECA in the feature match. Venues and times for these matches are yet to be confirmed.
