The result, though seeming one-sided, was anything but, as CC had to wait until the 55th minute before skipper Earl Simpson put them in front against a stubborn Dinthill. With Dinthill giving as good as they got in the middle of the park, The title still looked precarious until the 81st minute when substitute, Andre Nicholson extended the lead. To put icing on the cake, came a goal from Tajay Williams in time added on (90+3).
The first half showed CC to be the superior team, the defending and eventual champions, getting at least three clear opportunities to go ahead.
But then Dinthill grew into the game and began putting in a defensive shift that brought back memories of Kingston College in the Champions Cup final.
KC blunted the Clarendon attack and found a winner from a bit of individual brilliance to lift that title last week and hand the DaCosta Cup champions their only defeat of the season.
As the second half wore on, there were some worrying signs with Dinthill breaking on the counter every now and then despite the 53 per cent dominance Clarendon enjoyed.
However, the champions would get some relief from that pressure when Simpson rose high to head home a cross from close range. The power of the header gave the Dinthill custodian no chance and the writing looked as if it were on the wall.
Dinthill didn’t respond as if they were beaten though, and kept the game close, worrying the Clarendon support from time to time.
That was until a defensive error saw Nicholson pounce.
Beating the defender who had lost the ball to him down his right flank, Nicholson cut inside and chipped his delivery over the Dinthill goalkeeper who was trying to make himself big, the nestling of the ball into the far corner, signaling the death knell.
At 2-0 up Clarendon could relax and enjoy the remaining 10 or so minutes of the game and they did, attacking with more freedom than they had before.
One such attack saw a ball pulled back from the byline to Williams, who rifled home his one-time effort with the type of confidence expected of a team that had only tasted defeat once.
