Defending champ KC and Mona High face Manning Cup elimination Wednesday
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Two of the ISSA Wata Manning Cup title contenders will be eliminated on Wednesday as the final set of matches of the second round takes place, with four games in Group 2 and 4 as the last two champions, Kingston College and Mona High, face must-win games.
Champions Kingston College (KC) are in third spot in Group 2 on three points and face leaders Calabar on four points at Stadium East starting at 4:15 pm.
In the other Group 2 game, second-placed Hydel High, on four points, meet the pointless Campion College at Waterhouse Stadium, also at 4:15 pm.
Hydel High needs only a draw to make the last eight, the same for Calabar High. KC, on the other hand, must beat Calabar or pray that if they draw, Campion College can bail them out by beating Hydel.
It is set for two epic games in Group 2, where most eyes will be on the defending champions, as if they fail, a new champion will be crowned, as is the case in the DaCosta Cup, as Garvey Maceo went crashing out, losing 2-5 to Glenmuir High.
After losing to Hydel High in their first match, KC were in a must-win game against Campion College, and they delivered a 3-0 win.
On Wednesday, they are in another must-win game, but it won’t be that easy, as Calabar has one of their best teams in years and is looking to make a statement.
Meanwhile, Group 4 is just as interesting as two former champions, Mona High and Jamaica College (JC), meet in a do-or-die encounter at the Stadium East starting at 2:00 pm, and Eltham High take on St Jago at the Waterhouse Stadium at 2:00 pm.
JC lead the group with four points, the same as Eltham High, with Mona in third on three points; St Jago is pointless.
A draw would be enough for JC to book their spot in the quarterfinals but the 2023 champions Mona must beat them to advance. There is another possibility for Mona, if they draw with JC and Eltham lose to St Jago, they are through.
Besides the probabilities, this match-up between Mona and JC should be a fiery one based on recent history, when in 2023 Mona High while celebrating their historic Manning Cup triumph, stormed onto the premises of JC.
Mona has a former JC Manning Cup player, Craig Butler at their helm, and he has been showing his displeasure for what he termed favourable decisions over the years for JC by the organisers and officials.
Only last week, he was red-carded during a post-match outburst after his team lost to Eltham High, claiming that the referee in that game was a JC past student who gave his team Mona High a hard time, knowing JC would benefit.
On Wednesday, both teams come face-to-face in a potential season-ending encounter for one of them, and fireworks are in store.
Second-placed Eltham High, on the other hand, cannot be complacent and must get the job done against an out-of-contention St Jago High. A draw will be good enough for Eltham to make the last eight for the first time in decades.