KINGSTON College (KC) Head Coach Vassell Reynolds expressed nothing but admiration for his players after their 2-0 victory over Camperdown High in the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association Manning Cup football match on Wednesday.

Alex Hislop’s goal in the fourth minute and Kelvin Brown’s strike in the 65th secured KC’s three crucial points as they competed at Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex in the first game of a double-header in Zone A competition.

Calabar High defeated Charlie Smith High 3-0 in the second game of the double-header, while Hydel High thrashed Penwood High 10–0 at Maverley Football Club, thanks to three goals from Kylan Smith.

Charlie Smith, Hydel, Calabar, and KC each have six points, but Camperdown and Penwood are yet to get off the mark.

The KC coach praised his inexperienced team for putting in a valiant effort.

“Although there is still work to be done I believe we rose to the challenge,” Reynolds said during a post-match interview.

“The young players are learning pretty well, as evidenced by the fact that we fielded a 13-year-old who was the player of the match. We also had a 14-year-old and five 15-year-olds, but I thought they were well-equipped, particularly in the second half. We are pretty satisfied with the way how we recovered from the first half,” he said.

Lebert Halliman, the coach of Camperdown, commented that, despite the defeat, he was happy with his team’s play.

“I had to take my captain off the field because he wasn’t playing his role. We got off to a really good start until he started running around, at which point I had to take him away. However, I must genuinely congratulate the boys because I believe they did a good job overall.

“Since they are still learning and the season is still young we only need to work harder and focus on the next game, which is on Saturday,” Halliman said.