DESPITE suffering a heavy 8-1 defeat to Mona High on Tuesday, Tarrant High Head Coach Orlando Bennett believes his team has what it takes to make it out of the group in the ISSA Digicel Manning Cup.

Tarrant were shown no mercy by the defending champions who scored five goals in the opening 35 minutes, with Demarion Harris and Sean Leighton netting twice.

Cameron Harris scored for Tarrant in the 36th minute, which was the first goal Mona has conceded so far this season.

However, it turned out to be their only shot on target as second-half goals from Robinho Gordon, Javier Dunn and Ryan Gourzong wrapped up the win for Mona.

Tarrant haven’t made it out of the group stage in recent history but, despite suffering two losses from their three games, Bennett is confident his team can defy the odds.

“Our aim is to actually make it to the second round, and I do think we have the capability to go there. I have a few injured players who are coming back so, hopefully, as we progress we’ll get a few wins and we’ll definitely climb up,” he said.

He says his team’s youthfulness may pose a challenge, however.

“We have a very young team — at least nine players are under 16 — [and for] some of them it’s their first time playing in the Manning Cup. The concentration span is a bit short but as they progress they’ll definitely grow because it’s a very young team — but we’ll get there,” Bennett said.

Leighton, who was a key contributor to Mona’s success, was delighted after an impressive performance on his 16th birthday.

“I’m very happy to score two but I wasn’t really pressured to score two; they just came and I took them. I’ve enjoyed [the Manning Cup experience]; I came when I was 13. I was growing into the system, and knowing that I’m experienced is good for me,” he said.

According to Mona’s technical director and Phoenix Academy founder Craig Butler, the teenager has attracted interest from English Premier League clubs Chelsea and Aston Villa. Leighton is hoping that this will all come to fruition.

“I’m very elated about the opportunities that I heard of and I’ll just take them as [they] come. To get that breakthrough would be very good for me and the whole Phoenix, the school, and it will get more opportunities for more players in the club,” he said.

Tuesday’s results

Mona 8, Tarrant 1

St George’s College 7, Norman Manley 0

Kingston College 2, Jose Marti 0

Papine 1, Holy Trinity 2

Jonathan Grant 2, Waterford 0

Wednesday’s lixtures

Hydel High vs Clan Carthy High @ Homestead Community Centre

STATHS vs Camperdown @ STATHS

Vauxhall High vs Calabar High @ Vauxhall

Haile Selassie vs Kingston Technical @ Haile Selassie

Eltham High vs Dunoon Park Technical @ Eltham