DAYS after leading Excelsior High to the all-island Olivier Shield title, Head Coach Keon Broderick is still euphoric as the success sunk in for what has been a most wonderful season.

There was a deep sense of contentment and a positive emotional state as Broderick rode on the truck during the victory parade on Friday, looking at the hundreds of schoolchildren and everyone affiliated with Excelsior who took to the streets for a massive celebration.

“Trust me, it’s a great feeling to not only win the Manning Cup but also win the all-island Olivier title,” Broderick told the Jamaica Observer. “It’s been a very good feeling — not only for myself but for the school community, everybody. Trust me, you can see it in the celebration. It has been a great feeling.”

Excelsior ended a 21-year drought by winning the Manning Cup title, beating then-unbeaten Jamaica College (JC) 2-0. They then followed that up with a 2-0 win over another unbeaten team — St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) — to be crowned the best team in Jamaica.

“When you look at the way in which we won, and the teams, the quality of the teams … which we beat, it does show you the magnitude and how good this Excelsior team is,” Broderick said. “Not only were these [opposing] teams unbeaten, but they had the best record as it relates to goals conceded. JC conceded the least amount of goals in the Manning Cup. STETHS conceded the least amount of goals in the daCosta Cup.

“The style in which we actually won both games — 2-0 with a clean sheet, two goals and a clean sheet — you can’t really ask for anything better at this stage,” Broderick said.

Broderick, who is also a teacher, says the STETHS game was a little challenging because of the long break they had over the Christmas period and the boys being away from training for about two weeks.

“While they did really well in the first half, apart from the fact that they were not at their best physically, it showed up in the second half of the game and I mean, that goes to their character,” Broderick reasoned.

“They had to fight and give everything that they had. There were a lot of cramps, a lot of players were tired because they were not in the same shape that they were in when we played the Manning Cup final on December 19.

“They did a really good job in actually keeping the clean sheet, defending well, as well also to transitioning nicely into attack and [then to] create the second goal. So, trust me, it’s a great feeling.”

BRODERICK…when you look at the way in which we won, and the teams, the quality of the teams … which we beat, it does show you the magnitude and how good this Excelsior team is (Photo: Garfield Robinson)