MUCH has been said about the talent of Kingston College’s (KC’s) Dujuan “Whisper” Richards, and Head Coach Raymond Watson again heaped praises on the young striker after his hat-trick lifted them to a comfortable 3-0 win over Calabar in their Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association/Digicel Manning Cup Group A return leg on Saturday.

Though the game was played at Calabar’s Red Hills Road base, the atmosphere favoured Kingston College as the hosts and their fans had very little to cheer about throughout the lopsided encounter.

Richards, who was instrumental in KC’s 5-1 beating of the same opponents during their first meeting at Sabina Park, single-handedly got the job done on this occasion, scoring in the 20th, 33rd and 49th minutes, thus taking his tally to eight goals this season.

With the win, KC consolidated pole position on maximum 12 points while Calabar have much to do as they currently occupy fourth position on four points.

“I am happy for him. He is a great player, and once he knows his talent and becomes a little bit more of a team player, he could be unstoppable. He is getting there and it’s amazing to think about what the future holds for him if he continues on the same path,” Watson said in a post-game interview.

After showing signs of complacency in the early exchanges, KC eventually got into their rhythm and broke the deadlock when Richards was allowed too much space and time to fire home, after picking up a cross from Teyshawn Mattis.

Calabar tried to reply, and with one of their few opportunities felt they should have pulled level shortly after. However, Rochester Francis’s left-footed effort went just wide of the right upright.

KC later doubled their lead three minutes past the half-hour mark when Richards outmuscled Devon Hutchinson on his way to slotting past the slightly advanced Ramiesh McKoy in goal for Calabar.

The one-way traffic continued on the resumption as Richards sidewinded his way through the defence before picking out Aaron Thomas, who fired his effort straight at McKoy.

However, the lanky Richards, sporting the number 10 jersey, again demonstrated his immense potential when he skipped by a defender and rifled a left-footer from about 30 yards out, which left McKoy well beaten.

Despite KC’S tempo dropping after Richards’ substitution, Calabar were unable to find any meaningful opportunity to get on the scoresheet.

“It’s about how special he [Richards] is and — just like any other team — there is a special player, and without them the team itself will have to deal with it. But, we can play without him,” Watson said when quizzed about the drop in momentum after Richards’ exit.

— Sherdon Cowan

SATURDAY’S RESULTS

Group A

Ardenne 0, St George’s College 3

Calabar 0, Kingston College 3

Meadowbrook 0, Waterford 5

Group B

Cedar Grove Academy 2, St

Jago 1

St Mary’s College 0, Jamaica

College 10

Group C

Charlie Smith 2, Haile Selassie 1

Bridgeport 1, Edith Dalton 1

Vauxhall 1, Tivoli Gardens 2

Group D

Dunoon Technical 1, Jonathan

Grant 3

Spanish Town 2, Tarrant 1

STATHS 2, Norman Manley 2

Group E

Hydel 3, Papine 0

Kingston High 0, Mona 6

Group F

Clan Carthy 0, Campion College 1

Jose Marti 5, Cumberland 0

Kingston Technical 1, Excelsior 2