Glenmuir's Head coach Andrew Peart (left) and Lenworth Hyde of Clarendon College.
It will be an all-Clarendon showdown to decide this year’s ISSA/Wata daCosta Cup champions, as reigning champions Clarendon College and Glenmuir High booked their spot in the final with penalty shootout victories over Garvey Maceo and Dinthill Technical in their respective semi-finals encounter on Saturday.
Clarendon College stopped Garvey Maceo 4-3 on penalties, after they played out a 1-1 stalemate in regulation time at Glenmuir High, to not only extended their unbeaten run, but also remain on course to secure the coveted triple.
Captain Malachi Douglas gave Clarendon College a 45+7-minute lead from the penalty spot, but Cleo Clarke (75th) responded for Garvey Maceo with a penalty conversion of his own to send the game to the dreaded shootout.
There, Douglas, Keheim Dixon, Theon Cupee and Christopher Hull, all converted for Clarendon College, while the Chapelton-based substitute goalkeeper Lydel Rodney, denied Clarke and Omarion O’Brian hit his effort wide.
Meanwhile, Glenmuir defeated Dinthill Technical 4-2 on penalties after they played out a goalless stalemate in their contest at Manchester High.
Glenmuir, like Clarendon College is also on course of the treble, and both will be looking to go a step further when they contest their respective semi-finals of the ISSA Champions Cup all-island knockout tournament against Hydel and Kingston College, on Tuesday.
With that in mind, Clarendon College’s Head coach Lenworth “Teacha” Hyde is not only excited about the prospects, but also focused on keeping his players fit and healthy.
“We have been kicking penalties from about three or four months ago and this goalkeeper [Rodney] saved a lot in training and so we decided to put him in and it paid off,” Hyde said in a post-game interview.
“It will be a good matchup against Glenmuir, they are a ball playing team so I love playing against them, so we just have to go and prepare for that. But Tuesday is another crucial game against Hydel, so we are looking forward to getting the players rested, replenished and ready for Tuesday’s game,” he added.
It was a cagey start to the contest by Clarendon College’s standard, but they gradually came into their own after a brief break to facilitate a kit change.
They went close to break the deal in the 18th when Deandre Gallimore’s header came off the upright, and Christopher Maxwell, in goal for Garvey Maceo, denied Hull on the rebound.
Two minute later Dixon’s shot from close range was kept out by Maxwell’s reflex save diving to his right.
Clarendon College eventually broke the deadlock through Douglas, who picked himself up and converted a penalty for his 16th goal of the season, after he was felled inside the area.
Garvey Maceo came out probing on the resumption and almost pulled level six minutes in when Clarke’s well-struck left-footed freekick had Roshae Burrell, who started in goal for Clarendon College, beaten but the effort came back off the crossbar.
Clarke was at it again four minutes later, as he charged into the box and drove a right-footer that was kept out by Burrell, who got down well in time at his near post.
Garvey Maceo’s press inevitably saw them back on level terms when Clarke converted from the 12-yard spot, after O’Brian was felled inside the red zone.
Clarke’s 23rd goal of the season injected some tempo in Garvey Maceo’s charge, as they pushed for the winner, while Clarendon College replaced Burrell with Rodney in anticipation of penalties, and they moved proved fruitful.
Garvey Maceo’s Head coach took heart from his team’s campaign.
“We planned for them, and I think we did really well tactically. The team stuck to the task right through and I think this game was fitting of a final. But hats off to coach Lenny and Clarendon College, and congratulations to my boys because when we started the season no one expected us to do so well,” Gordon said.
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
Ancelotti defends Kroos substitution against Bayern Munich
Carlo Ancelotti defended his decision to substitute Toni Kroos during Real Madrid's 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich.
The two European heavyweights shared the spoils in a thrilling Champions League semi-final first leg at the Allianz Arena, where Vinicius Junior's late penalty levelled the tie.
Vinicius had opened the scoring in the 24th minute after latching onto Kroos' delicious throughball, one of a game-high 15 line-breaking passes the Germany midfielder played during the first half.
The 34-year-old was replaced by Brahim Diaz for the final 14 minutes of the contest, which Bayern had turned around thanks to second-half strikes from Leroy Sane and Harry Kane.
But Ancelotti, who knows the support of Madrid's fans will be crucial when he welcomes his former club to Santiago Bernabeu for next week's second leg, explained his thinking.
"Jude Bellingham had cramp, Toni Kroos played a spectacular game, but the plan was to try to recover the control of the game by putting fresh legs in," the Italian told reporters during his post-match press conference.
"As always, at this point in the season, we have a great opportunity to play in another final. It's an even tie against a great team. It will be another 90 minutes of suffering, but in an atmosphere that we know quite well. The fans are going to help us."
Meanwhile, Thomas Tuchel knows Bayern will have their work cut out in the second leg, but has encouraged his players to be confident and embrace the challenge.
"The situation is now very clear," he said. "We go to Madrid and the winner takes it all. We are ready to fight. It is important to believe that.
"It is still possible. It is 50-50. It is one of the toughest places to win, but that is also what makes this challenge exciting."
Manchester United clearout continues as two more senior boardroom figures depart
Manchester United have continued their clearout under Jim Ratcliffe by confirming the departures of Patrick Stewart and Cliff Baty.
Interim chief executive Stewart and chief financial officer Baty will depart Old Trafford at the end of the current campaign.
Stewart, who replaced Richard Arnold in the position at the start of the year, will be temporarily replaced by Jean-Claude Blanc until Omar Berrada arrives in July, while Roger Bell will take over from Baty.
The news was confirmed by United on their official website on Tuesday.
INEOS Sport chief Blanc is well known to Ratcliffe, who recently bought a 27.7-per-cent stake in United and is in control of footballing affairs.
Bell also has ties to INEOS and will now take up the same CFO role at Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe said: "I would like to personally thank both Patrick and Cliff for their support in helping us get to know the club and making us feel welcome and I respect their decisions to now move on as we establish a new management team for the club."
Executive co-chairman Joel Glazer said: "I would like to thank Patrick and Cliff for their dedicated service to Manchester United and wish them well for the future.
"Both have been a source of invaluable advice and expertise over many years, and Patrick has served an important role as interim CEO during this transitional phase."
Since Ratcliffe purchased a minority stake in United, the club have made a number of other changes behind the scenes.
John Murtough stepped down as football director after more than a decade at the club, with Dan Ashworth lined up to replace him, while Jason Wilcox has been appointed as technical director.
United are sixth in the Premier League with four games remaining, raising questions over the future of manager Erik ten Hag under the new regime.
Bayern were victims of Real Madrid's lethal efficiency, says Tuchel
Bayern Munich were victims of Real Madrid's lethal efficiency in Tuesday's 2-2 draw but the Germans are ready to beat them in next week's Champions League semi-final return leg, says coach Thomas Tuchel.
The Bavarians struck twice in four minutes early in the second half with a shot from Leroy Sane and a Harry Kane penalty to turn the game around after Vinicius Junior had put the visitors ahead in the 24th against the run of play.
Brazilian striker Vinicius also bagged an equaliser with an 83rd-minute spot kick as Bayern were pushing for a third goal.
Tuchel felt Bayern were in a strong position to stretch their lead going into the closing stages, but instead they will travel to Madrid next Wednesday with the tie all square.
"The result is what it is and it is not worth spending any time thinking about it," Tuchel, who will leave Bayern at the end of the season after a disappointing domestic campaign, said at his post-match press conference.
"Real have done it before, to score twice with two chances.
"We are not the first team to suffer that. They have the finish, they have the quality to do that."
Reflecting on the match, Tuchel added: "We had a strong start, then we lost a bit of our rhythm.
"Then [later in the game] we should have scored a third, but we were not efficient enough, not cold enough to add a third. Then we gifted them a penalty."
Bayern enjoyed a strong start and also had chances to score again after going 2-1 up.
They will now need to win against Real, who are chasing a 15th European Cup, in Madrid if they are to advance to the final at Wembley.
Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain face each other in the other semi-final, with the first leg of that tie taking place on Wednesday.
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