Tivoli Gardens High School win Walker Cup
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Tivoli Gardens High School ended a 17-year wait when they beat first-time finalists Haile Selassie High School 6-5 in sudden death penalties to win their fifth ISSA Walker Cup Knock-Out title at Sabina Park on Friday.
The teams ended 1-1 after regulation time and 4-4 after the first five penalty kicks were taken before Tivoli Gardens’ goalkeeper Shakur Adair saved Tyrecce Francis’ attempt.
Tivoli Gardens’ last hold on a cup was in 2005 when they beat Calabar High 1-0 in the Walker Cup final, six years after their last hold on the Manning Cup title.
It was Haile Selassie High’s first ever football final after failing in the semi-finals of the 2016 competition where they lost 0-2 to Jamaica College.
On Friday Daniel Watson headed Tivoli Gardens into the lead in the 35th minute when he ran on to a cross from Rolando Stephenson taken from the left side of the Haile Selassie 18-yard area and powered it into the top right hand corner of the goal.
Jahwan Payne pulled Haile Selassie High back level early in the second half when he fought his way into the Tivoli High area down the right side and fired across goal into the far left corner in the 49th minute.
In the first five penalty kicks, Jaheim Dorman, Charleston Williams, Omario Rowe and Shane McIntosh scored for Tivoli while Sue-Dre Hepburn, Payne, Rohan Muir and Joshua Dewar scored for Haile Selassie.
Ryan-Oneil Francis and Daeshawn Tate scored in sudden death for Tivoli High while Jahni Lawrence responded for Haile Selassie.