HILLEL Academy Head Coach Sean Fraser says he is confident in the programme being put together after the school advanced to the ISSA Manning Cup Round of 16 for the first time in the school’s brief history in the competition.

Hillel, who needed just a draw to secure their spot in the next round, recorded an emphatic 5-1 win over Bridgeport High on Tuesday, at their school, to close out the second round in style.

The victory secured fourth place in Group 4 with six points, leaving former champions Bridgeport in fifth and outside the automatic qualifying places.

It marks another milestone for Hillel in just their second season of Manning Cup football, having failed to advance beyond the first round in 2025.

Former Reggae Boyz striker Fraser says he knew they would achieve success due to the plans they’ve been implementing over the past few years.

“To tell you the truth, I’m lost for words,” he told the Jamaica Observer. “But to be honest, I saw this one before, based on the work that we were doing as a coaching staff and as a unit here. The players were buying into what we brought to the table; they wanted to learn, get better, and they believed in themselves and have confidence.

“Last year we missed out by a point, and many people didn’t realise that, so this year I looked at all the games last year to see where I went wrong and fixed a few things. Everything is not fixed as yet but I think the programme that we are building at Hillel Academy is one for the future. And it’s not just [for] now, so you will see us doing greater things in the future.

“We have four teams in competition now – under-14, -16, -19 and -12, so I think that if we continue on the trend that we have, you’re going to hear about Hillel for the future.”

Fraser says the experience of challenging 2024 champions Mona, Eltham and Vauxhall in the second round has prepared them well for the journey ahead.

“The objective was to get out of that gauntlet group, with all those matches to play, to come through. When we came through we said that we’re going to work as hard as possible and see where the chips fall, but when we looked at the group we saw that we have Bridgeport at Denham Town, who we can compete against.

“Obviously, Mona, Eltham and Vauxhall are a little bit above us. The scorelines really don’t reflect the game itself because our goalkeeper and some of our better players went back down to the Colts (U-16s) and the U-14s… So we looked at the group and we said if we can get six points, we can make it to the round of 16. Now, we need to look at the groups ahead to see who’s coming and then I will tactically organise the team from thereon.”

A host of other teams will be looking to book their spot in the round of 16 today, including defending champions Excelsior High who start the day in third place in Group 2, having been docked six points by ISSA over the use of an ineligible player.

Excelsior take on sixth-place Holy Trinity and only need to avoid defeat to advance. Norman Manley High and Charlie Smith will battle for the last automatic spot when they take on St Jago High and Calabar High, respectively, both of whom have already secured their passage into the next round.

Former champions Wolmer’s, St George’s College, Tivoli Gardens, and Camperdown will also look to secure their place in the round of 16.

Kingston College, Jamaica College, St Catherine High, and St Andrew Technical High (STATHS) have their spots guaranteed ahead of their matches this afternoon.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

•Campion College vs Camperdown High at Excelsior 1:15 pm

•St Catherine vs Wolmer’s Boys’ at St Catherine 3:00 pm

•Jamaica College vs Jose Marti Tech at Ashenheim Stadium, 3:00 pm

•Charlie Smith vs Calabar at Charlie Smith, 3:00 pm

•St Jago vs Norman Manley at St Jago, 3:00 pm

•Kingston College vs Tivoli Gardens at Stadium East, 3:00 pm

•STATHS vs Penwood at STATHS, 3:00 PM

•St George’s College vs Edith Dalton James at St George’s College, 3:00 pm

•Excelsior vs Holy Trinity at Excelsior High, 3:15 pm