Excelsior High waltzed into the quarter-finals of the ISSA/Wata Manning Cup with a 3-2 win over Tivoli Gardens High in their Group 1 game at the Courtney Walsh Oval yesterday.

Terrence Williams opened the scoring in the fifth minute before Kimarly Scott took charge, scoring in the 33rd and 47th minutes.

But a visibly tired Excelsior outfit allowed Tivoli Gardens back into the game and they obliged with two goals in the 74th and 90th minutes by Jeremy Forbes and Horace Morgan, respectively, to set the stage for a tense few final minutes.

In the end, Excelsior held on and marched into the quarter-finals as group winners as St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) lost 1-0 to Wolmer’s Boys’. Both teams finished with six points, but Excelsior has a better goal difference.

Keon Broderick, head coach of Excelsior High, said his team played a game of two halves.

“We did very well in the first half, especially scoring two goals. Came out in the second half to score that early goal, and I think the boys actually felt a little bit overly confident, a little bit too arrogant,” Broderick said.

“And as a result, we lapsed in concentration, especially on the set pieces, and they were able to convert two set pieces. Moving forward, we have to do better in those situations, especially when we’re in front, to actually focus and get the job done just the same. We have to keep going until the whistle blows for the 98th minute.”

Tivoli Gardens, who needed to beat Excelsior to advance to the quarter-final, started slowly and paid the price despite a strong second half and Assistant Coach Lance DaCosta said his team had stage fright and it cost them.

“It was a brilliant second half from the youngsters, and had we started the first half the same we would have won. But it’s just football, they are youngsters,” he said.

As group winners, Excelsior will be placed in Zone A with Charlie Smith, who drew 1-1 with Vauxhall High. Charlie Smith won Group 3 with seven points, ahead of second-placed Vauxhall on five points and also booked the berth into the quarter-final.

Last year’s runners-up, and this year’s favourite, St Catherine High, crashed out of the competition despite hammering St George’s College 5-1 and ending with four points, which placed them third in Group 3 behind Charlie Smith and Vauxhall High.

Tuesday’s results

Wolmer’s Boys’ 1, STATHS 0

Excelsior 3, Tivoli Gardens 2

Vauxhall High 1, Charlie Smith 1

St Catherine High 5, St George’s College 1