CHARLIE Smith High School’s Head Coach Eugene Williams was left distraught after his team squandered a two-goal lead for a 2-2 result against Jonathan Grant in the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association/Digicel Manning Cup Zone B encounter at Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex on Thursday.

Charlie Smith comfortably led 2-0 at half time, thanks to first-half strikes from Dominic Barnes, in the ninth minute, and George Pringle in the 33rd.

However, despite dominating much of the game, Charlie Smith were pegged back after goalkeeper Andre Bogle conceded twice in the second half. Jonathan Grant’s Nicardo Graham, in the 59th minute, and Joel Titus, in the 78th, were the scorers.

Williams said lapses by his goalkeeper, along with faulty finishing in front of goal and fatigue, cost them all three points.

“Those two goalkeeper errors really hurt us badly because Jonathan Grant didn’t have anything to offer in the game, but my goalkeeper just threw it away for us. But, you just have to give and take because this is a 15-year-old that you are dealing with and so I guess he will learn from this experience,” Williams said.

“We were not scoring our chances, but one has to remember that we played a game on Tuesday and so my players’ legs are still very heavy. I told them to let the ball do the work, but they didn’t follow the instructions and we were unable to convert those opportunities we created,” Williams noted.

Kameel Wolf, coach of Jonathan Grant, stated that his team did not execute as he wanted but was nonetheless happy to take a point away from home.

“I am not pleased with the performance but I am pleased with the result because this draw has kept us on the same points in the group as Charlie Smith. But today, we didn’t play our type of game; I think Charlie Smith played the better game,” Wolf stated.

Charlie Smith dominated the early proceedings in the first half and were finally rewarded when Barnes pounced on a loose ball inside the 18-yard box to fire past goalkeeper Sheldon Yorke. Pringle doubled Charlie Smith’s lead when he arrived at the near post to tap from point-blank range.

Jonathan Grant fought their way back into the match when Graham’s long-range effort slipped through Bogle’s hands and into the back of Charlie Smith’s net. Titus then made it 2-2 for Jonathan Grant after a weak shot from distance rolled through Bogle’s legs and into the net.

Charlie Smith and Jonathan Grant are now tied for second place in the group with 10 points each. However, Charlie Smith are ahead due to a superior goal difference.

Defending champions Mona, who are unbeaten this season, lead the group with 15 points from five matches. Waterford and Tarrant are tied for fourth in the zone with three points each, followed by Gaynstead with zero.

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

•Charlie Smith 2, Jonathan Grant

•Mona 18, Gaynstead 0

•St Catherine 4, Papine 0

FRIDAY’S GAMES

•Haile Selassie vs Vauxhall

•Kingston Technical vs STATHS

•Camperdown vs Calabar

•Wolmer’s vs Edith Dalton James

•Norman Manley vs Holy Trinity

•Excelsior vs Ascot

•Bridgeport vs Pembroke Hall

•St Jago vs Denham Town

•St Mary’s College vs Tivoli Gardens