Kingston College's scorer Kelvin Brown (left) and a Camperdown's Donovan Hopeton challenge for possession during their Group A fixture on Wednesday.
contributed
Former champions Kingston College and Calabar continued their upward trend in Group A of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup, as both registered 2-0 and 3-0 victories over Camperdown and Charlie Smith respectively at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex on Wednesday.
Both Kingston College and Calabar, who lost their opening contests, have rebounded nicely with these being their second win on the trot in a competitive group that is expected to go down to the wire for the top two positions.
In the opening contest, Alex Hislop (fourth) and Kelvin Brown (65th) got the job done for Kingston College over Camperdown, while Javel Watson (20th), Fitzroy McLeod (79th) and Kimani Thompson (90+2), were on target for Calabar in the feature encounter.
With the win, both Calabar and Kingston College moved to six points, along with leader Hydel, who hammered Penwood 10-0 in their fixture. Charlie Smith remains in fourth on three points, with Camperdown and Penwood yet to put a point on the board.
After Hislop fired Kingston College in front, the tempo of the young North Street-based team dropped significantly but picked up when the game resumed from a short break due to severe weather conditions.
Kingston College should have added a second from the penalty spot, but Dejuan Green tried to be too fancy and hit the 12-yard kick wide, as the score remained 1-0 at the break.
The purples continued their dominant show on the resumption and though Camperdown tried to play their game, the failed to really trouble Dominic Robinson in goal for Kingston College.
Vassell Reynolds’s side eventually added to their tally when Brown waltzed his way around three defenders before finishing a right-footer with aplomb to seal the win.
Though not impressed, Reynolds welcomed the improved second half display and, by extension, the win.
“I think we rose to the occasion; it is still a work in progress, but the youngsters are learning very quickly. I am pretty satisfied with how they recovered from the first half. I thought the break helped us really, we were giving away possession of the ball and we lacked the composure in the first half, but they came out and equipped themselves in the second half,” Reynolds said in his post-game assessment.
His counterpart Lebert Halliman cited indiscipline for his team’s defeat, their second of the season. They also have against Hydel in which they are down 0-5 to be completed.
“Indiscipline is why I took off my captain because he wasn’t playing his role. But overall, I think the team did well, it’s a young team and a long season, so it’s a learning process for them,” Halliman said.
The feature contest was much more eventful, as both Charlie Smith and Calabar were evenly matched for the most parts.
Both displayed individual flair and some colorful plays in patches, but it was Calabar that proved the most clinical in the end.
The Andrew Price-conditioned Calabar opened the scoring in the 20th minute when an unmarked Watson, easily headed home at close range from a Jaheim Rankine cross.
They almost doubled the lead 12 minutes later, as Sheridan Wilson’s stinging right-footed shot from a distance had Deonte Gary, in goal for Charlie Smith beaten, but the effort came back off the crossbar.
With no changes to the scoreline at the break, Charlie Smith showed more purpose on the resumption in their hunt for the equalizer. However, they not only found themselves with a numerical disadvantage when they lost Gary to straight red in the 61st minute for stomping on an opponent, but they also found themselves with a two-goal deficit to make up.
This, as Anthony McDonald’s weighted free kick found McLeod, who made no mistakes.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, Thompson rubbed salt on an already wounded Charlie Smith with an easy close range finish in time added.
Wednesday’s results
Zone A
Kingston College 2, Camperdown 0
Charlie Smith 0, Calabar 3
Penwood 0, Hydel High 10
Zone B
Meadowbrook 3, Cumberland 2
Jamaica College 3, Spanish Town 0
Zone D
Excelsior 7, Cedar Grove 1
Bridgeport 2, Clan Carthy 1
Zone E
St Catherine 7, Edith Dalton James 0
Innswood 2, Holy Trinity 0
Mona 9, St Mary’s College 1
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
Fiorentina 2-2 Napoli: Kvaratskhelia keeps visitors' slim European hopes alive
Dethroned Italian champions Napoli's hopes of playing European football next season are hanging by a thread after they played out a 2-2 draw at Fiorentina in Serie A on Friday.
Napoli took the lead in the eighth minute through defender Amir Rrahmani, who nodded home a corner by Matteo Politano.
Cristiano Biraghi levelled for Fiorentina in the 40th minute from a free-kick, before M'Bala Nzola put the hosts in front two minutes later when he fired a shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia responded with another stunning free-kick early in the second half to rescue a point for his team.
Eighth-placed Fiorentina, on 54 points and with a game in hand, are five points behind Lazio in seventh.
They can still earn a Europa League spot either by leapfrogging the Rome side or by winning the Europa Conference League final in which they face Greece's Olympiakos on May 29.
Ninth-placed Napoli, on 52 points, still have a slim chance of making the Europa Conference League playoffs.
Data Debrief
Fiorentina left-back Biraghi has now scored six goals from direct free-kicks since the start of 2021-22, which is behind only James Ward-Prowse (seven) - now of West Ham and formerly of Southampton - as the most across Europe's top five leagues in that period.
Kvaratskhelia also levelled via a direct free-kick, making this the first Serie A match in which both teams scored via that route since Fiorentina against Lazio in April 2018 (Jordan Veretout and Luis Alberto in that case).
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
Marc Skinner signs Manchester United Women contract extension
Marc Skinner has signed a one-year contract extension as Manchester United Women head coach with the option of a further 12 months.
The 41-year-old guided United to their first major silverware last weekend with victory over Tottenham in the Women's FA Cup final.
United are fifth in the Women's Super League with one game to go - a massive drop on last term's runners-up finish - but Skinner will stay on.
"It's an honour to extend my stay at Manchester United," Skinner, who was appointed in 2021, told United's official website after the news was confirmed on Friday.
"I've always felt at home here, with our excellent players, staff, and fans.
"Being able to secure the team's first major trophy at Wembley was a real career highlight for me and another sign of our continued growth, on and off the field."
United conclude their campaign on Saturday against Chelsea, who lead Manchester City on goal difference entering the final day.
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