Hunt for quarter-final spots begin in ISSA urban youth football
Five schools in the Under-14 category and three among the Under-16s will take perfect records into the Round of 16 of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) urban area youth schoolboy football competitions as the hunt for quarter-final places begin on Friday.
Defending champions and one of the big favourites for this year’s title, Kingston College, Wolmer’s, Jamaica College, Hillel Academy, and Holy Trinity have won all their games in the just-concluded preliminary round of the Burger King U-14 competition, while St George’s College, Excelsior, and St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) will take 100 per cent win records into the next round of the Mighty Malt U-16 tournament.
The biggest casualty in the Under-14 category was last season’s beaten finalist St George’s College, who failed to progress after a 2-0 loss at home to Eltham, which left them in third place in their group. There were no major surprises in the Under-16 category.
In Friday’s first set of games in the second round, Excelsior and STATHS will square off in one of the more interesting matchups in the Under-14 competition, with the Haron Martin-coached Wolmer’s facing Eltham, Kingston College tackling Calabar, and Jamaica College playing Dunoon in other key fixtures.
Campion will tackle Camperdown; Hillel welcomes Vauxhall; Holy Trinity hosts Greater Portmore; and St Catherine will challenge Jose Marti in the other matches, with all games set to begin at 1:15 pm. Defending Under-16 champions STATHS seem hell-bent on retaining their crown and they will play St Catherine in what should be a good showdown while last year’s beaten finalist Excelsior will look to continue their impressive march when they face Haile Selassie.
St George’s College has been relentless so far this season, but they will be tested by Hillel Academy when they meet at Winchester Park, while Wolmer’s will play away to St Jago, Jose Marti will host Calabar, and Jamaica College will tackle Eltham High.
Kingston College will be looking to make a statement against Waterford High, while contender Mona High will welcome Greater Portmore in their opening Round of 16 fixture.
