KINGSTON, Jamaica-Despite crashing out at the quarter-final stage of the ISSA Wata Manning Cup, Calabar High’s head coach Jeremy Miller, said there was a silver lining at the end of the road.

Calabar, winners of the Manning Cup on three occasions in 1943, 1977 and 2005, woke from their slumber and reached the quarter-final for the first time in over a decade.

But after back-to-back defeats to Vauxhall High and St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS), Calabar cannot advance to the semi-final despite one game remaining.

“If we are looking for a silver lining, I can definitely say progress was made this year. This is Calabar’s first time making it to the quarter-final round in almost a decade,” said Miller, who was appointed in June.

“We scored the most goals Calabar has ever scored. At times, we played some really attractive attacking football, we could have been a bit more consistent but this was definitely a step in the right direction and something to build on,” he added.

Calabar were second in the first round Zone E with 24 points after winning eight of their 10 games, banging in 50 goals while conceding nine times. They then scored seven goals in the second round and conceded three in topping Group 2.

They showed grit and determination in drawing 2-2 with Kingston College, a result that eliminated the champions before moving on to the quarterfinals.

However, things did not go according to plan and Calabar succumbed to Vauxhall 0-1 and then crashed to STATHS 1-4, playing with 10 men, which didn’t help their cause as they exited the tournament.

The drought for Manning Cup title reaches 20 years but Calabar will have a chance at silverware as they now drop down to contest the Walker Cup.

“We are also still in contention to win a cup with our participation in the Walker Cup where we are in the quarter finals. So, there is a lot to be proud of and to be hopeful for,” said Miller.

“It was definitely a tough manner to confirm our exit from the competition. We had a tactical plan which brought us a goal and we were also able to win a penalty, which we eventually missed, all in the first 10 minutes of the game,” Miller explained.

“In between that, we gave up a sloppy goal. But after the missed penalty, the boys lost their composure and strayed away from what we set out to do as a team. And it proved difficult to get them back on track. Receiving a red card also didn’t help in our efforts to turn our fortunes around,” he added.

Jeremy Miller, Calabar High football coach

Calabar will be in action again on Friday when they play an Eltham team that have booked their spot in the semi-finals as they hope to salvage some pride and gain confidence entering the Walker Cup, a tournament they have won twice – 1974 and 2007.