Kingston College’s Head Coach Raymond Watson praised his team for their courageous display after they downed a gusty Mona High 4-2 in a six-goal thriller very much worthy of a top-of-the-table clash.

What was anticipated to be one of the most exciting fixtures of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup season lived up to its billing with the reigning champions outlasting their opponents at the Stadium East field on Saturday.

The talismanic Dujuan “Whisper” Richards again led the way for Kingston College with a howling hat-trick in the 13th, 34th and 87th minutes, taking his tally to 23 goals this season, as 16-year-old Nashordo Gibbs (90+1) added the other.

Mona, who got their goals through Damoi Whitfield (48th) and leading striker Zhaine Pinnock (56th), had nothing to be ashamed of, as they battled tooth and nail, but were unfortunate in succumbing to their first defeat of the season.

If the encounter is anything to go by, then both teams seemed prepped and ready for their respective semi-final battles, with group winners Kingston College renewing rivalry with St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) at this stage of the tournament for a second-consecutive season, while Mona will tackle Jamaica College in what is expected to be another mouth-watering affair.

“It was an excellent game of football between two good teams and I must tip my hat to Mona, while I congratulate my players, they showed heart today, as Mona made the game difficult. They [Mona] are a good team and have quality players but we withstood them,” Watson said in a post-game interview.

“It was definitely deliberately planned for us to be on the back foot, we know that Mona play quick football, so we decided to defend deep and then go into transition,” he added.

As expected, the contest started at a decent tempo with both teams putting their attacking prowess on display in creating a few half chances.

Kingston College through the highly talented Richards were slightly more threatening and eventually grabbed the ascendancy when the towering striker picked himself up and converted from the 12-yard spot after being felled in the danger area by Carlton Brown.

Though Mona continued to press and at one point seemed the more dominant outfit, deja vu struck for minutes past the half-hour mark, as Richards and Kingston College doubled their tally, again from the penalty spot after he was again taken out inside the 18-yard box.

Mona almost pulled one back in the 40th minute but Denzel Mckenzie’s well struck right-footer from a distance failed to dip in time and instead rattled the crossbar.

Five minutes later Richards should have completed hat-trick and pushed KC beyond reach when he rounded goalkeeper Ackeem Bernard but the final effort off his weaker right foot went wayward.

As the score remained unchanged at the break, Mona had hope and it was evident in how purposeful they were on the resumption forcing Kingston College into a tight defensive posture.

Mona inevitably breached the purples armour when Whitfield’s long-range effort eluded the hapless goalkeeper Tajarie Lee three minutes in.

Things became even more intriguing when Mona pulled level through Pinnock’s thumping conversion after Captain Blaine Byam handled the ball inside the red zone.

Both teams continued to show life well past the hour mark but were unable to create any more meaningful chances.

And just went it seemed headed for a stalemate, up came Richards at the right time, leaving defenders in his wake before finishing a right-footed drive with aplomb.

Mona almost pulled level once again, but Lee in goal for Kingston College did well to parry Pinnock’s header, allowing his teammates to launch an immediate counter which ended with Gibbs’s cool, calm and collected finish in time added.

Saturday’s results

Kingston College 4, Mona 2

St George’s 4, Charlie Smith 1