In the battle of the fallen former champions, Norman Manley High hammered Ardenne High 9-0 in their opening Group C Manning Cup match at Maxfield Park yesterday.

On a field with more pebbles than grass, the ball ping-ponged around Maxfield Park — much like the sponsorship words emblazoned across the back of a Norman Manley jersey.

But the poor playing surface did little to slow down Norman Manley High, who opened their Group C Manning Cup campaign in ruthless fashion, beating Ardenne High 9-0 and moving to the top of the group on three points.

In the other Group C games, Edith Dalton James stunned Denham Town 2-1, while Kingston Technical High and Donald Quarrie High battled to a 2-2 draw.

At Maxfield Park, Norman Manley dominated throughout the game and turned the second half into a rout.

Demarco Bryan led the charge with a hat-trick, finding the back of the net in the 23rd, 38th, and 57th minutes.

Ardenne managed to stay competitive for spells in the opening half, but once Norman Manley found another gear, the goals began to flow.

Jevonie Trusty scored twice, in the 66th and 88th minutes, while Ernando Henry added another in the 82nd. Ashawny Knight followed two minutes later before Tequan Underhill made it 8-0 in the 86th. Dujoni Saunches completed the demolition job in the 90th minute.

Despite the heavy defeat, Ardenne Coach Patrick Dunkley insisted his young team could recover from the setback.

“We didn’t want this result. As you saw in the first half, they really competed in the first half,” Dunkley said.

Dunkley pointed to the youthfulness of his squad and the absence of several players who had been registered for the season.

“It’s a young team, and I guess, in everything, when you start off new, you have to take a mix, and we will do some adjustments,” he said. “This is not an excuse. We just didn’t have all of the players that we have put up for registration.”

He also revealed that Ardenne’s goalkeeper is actually an outfield player, highlighting some of the challenges facing the programme.

Norman Manley Coach Shane Gage was delighted with the result, but was quick to dismiss the suggestion that the nine-goal victory came easily.

“It’s not about easy. The objective was to see if we can put up our practice the way we planned, and trust God that we’ll execute accordingly,” Gage said.

Norman Manley did not start at full throttle, with Gage admitting that his players were initially timid.

“They were a little bit timid, a little bit jittery. So we didn’t start off the way we wanted, but gradually we picked up,” he said.

Gage also made it clear that he believes Norman Manley deserves to be among the Manning Cup’s seeded teams, but the seedings are decided based on the previous year’s performances.

“We are putting in the work. We’ve been rebuilding for about two or three years, so we probably wouldn’t fit the seeded standard at that time. But we are working for this year that we’ll be considered a seeded team,” Gage said.

The nine-goal victory gave Norman Manley an early three points atop Group C.

Wednesday’s results

Group B

•Innswood 1, Hillel 1

•Penwood 3, Clan Carthy 0

Group C

Norman Manley 9, Ardenne 0

•Edith Dalton James 2, Denham Town 1

•Kingston Technical 2, Donald Quarrie 2