Despite giving up a goal at the death, Wolmer’s Boys’ Head Coach Jerome Waite believes his team shouldn’t be underestimated after a 2-2 result against St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) in the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association/Digicel Manning Cup round-of-16 match at Stadium East on Friday.

Wolmer’s had great spells throughout the game and led twice thanks to a seventh-minute strike from Captain Daquan Duhaney and a 34th-minute tap in from Alex Wright.

However, STATHS managed to claw back on both occasions — first in the 13th minute from Christiano Brown and the second in the fifth minute of stoppage time through Ajetai Marshall.

Disappointed with sharing the points, Waite said his injury-plagued team deserved more from the game.

“We should have put the game to bed before the game ended. One of our players got a clear opportunity but he didn’t take the chance. Outside of that, it’s a learning process and a work in progress,” said Waite.

“They have made a lot of improvements and no one has beaten one of the strongest teams [STATHS] since the start of the season. It’s a pity we have so many injuries now and we have to be relying on the bench to see how best they can keep everything in tact as we go along.”

The boys from Heroes’ Circle failed to make the Manning Cup quarter-final stage last season and were beaten in the last eight of the Walker Cup to STATHS.

Despite being placed in Group 3 with STATHS, beaten finalists Hydel High and many-time champions Kingston College, Waite is confident his team has what it takes to challenge.

“If you watch the Wolmer’s team play, it’s not like the team of the last. I’m here to change the culture and you can see that’s what the players are buying into. But it’s a work in progress and we just have to continue dealing with the mental preparation,” he said.

“We still have two more games to go. We’re looking forward to the physio and doctor to do their work. Tomorrow is a day we’ll take our time out to do recovery and analyse what we could have done better.”

STATHS Head Coach Philip Williams said he will be doing some introspection after being puzzled by his team’s efforts.

“I’m not satisfied at all. In terms of character, coming back twice, is pleasing to see but in terms of how we performed, I think too much of our key players underperformed. Playing a team in this stage of the competition, if you underperform they’ll take advantage of you,” he said.

“It’s something we have to question the boys about, whether they slept well or if the meals we prepared didn’t give them enough energy. But a point is important at this level because it’s better to get a point than none.”

Both schools now have a point each in Group, 3 with Kingston College and Hydel set to clash on Saturday.

The top two from the group will advance to the quarter-finals.