Mona High continued their charge towards a maiden ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup title, as they secured a spot in the semi-final, following a 2-0 win over pre-season favourites St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) in their decisive Group One quarterfinals fixture at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex on Friday.

First half goals from Robino Gordon (7th) and Denzel McKenzie (21st), proved enough to send the Craig Butler-coached Mona into another semi-final for a second year consecutively, as well as into the All-island Champions Cup.

For Phillip Williams and his STATHS outfit, it was the worst time to produce a flat performance, and they miss out on the semi-final for the first time in six years, as a result.

Elsewhere in the, St Catherine High edged Kingston College 2-1 at the Spanish Town Prison Oval, but just missed out on a spot in the final four by virtue of a slightly inferior goal difference.

The results saw Mona finishing at the summit on five points, with Kingston College second on four points, same as St Catherine, while STATHS ended at foot on three points.

Butler beamed about Mona’s achievement as they enter the decisive end of the season with their unbeaten record intact.

“I am very proud of my team and very proud of my coaching staff. The players played hard, they stuck to the task, we took “Whispers” [Dujuan Richards] advice and it worked out. He [Richards] came out and helped us a lot especially with the changes and the tactics and the boys were disciplined,” Butler said.

Mona High started more purposeful and broke the deadlock in the seventh minute when McKenzie’s freekick was deftly flicked on by Gordon at the near post for his 14th of the season.

With STATHS looking flat and disjointed, particularly in the midfield, Mona were able to maintain their intensity and they used it to good effect to apply consistent pressure.

The lead was doubled when Romarion Thomas rounded the well-advanced Jaheem Williams, in goal for STATHS, and played a pass off to McKenzie, who calmly slotted into an empty net for his 10th of the season.

Mona should have added another on the stroke of half-time when McKenzie was felled inside the danger area by JLoyd Smith. McKenzie sporting the number 10 jersey picked up himself to take the 12-yard kick, but Williams guessed right, diving to his weaker left side, to keep out the effort.

The second half offered very little to write home about, though STATHS gradually improved in terms of their attacking thrust. They created a few half chances in an attempt to claw their way back into the contest, but were unable to make it count, even after Mona Carlton Brown to a second yellow card.

For Williams, it’s about picking up the pieces of another failed Manning Cup campaign to break a lengthy title drought dating back to 1987, with the focus now on possibly winning the consolation Walker Cup knockout title.

“The goals came off two mistakes but definitely Mona was the better team, and we have to give credit to them for putting in a full 90 minutes and keep us off the scoring sheet. It was very concerning, we did create chances but we didn’t put them away and so it is just about taking a break for a while and just recoup to come again next year,” he shared.

Friday’s results

Mona 2, STATHS 0

St Catherine 2, Kingston College 1

Saturday’s fixtures

3:00pm: Jamaica College vs St George’s College @Ashenheim Stadium

3:00pm: Hydel High vs Tivoli High @ Prison Oval

Reigning champions Jamaica College revived their chances of a successful title defence, while Kingston College made a big statement, as both registered victories in their respective ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup quarterfinal encounters at Stadium East field on Tuesday.

Davion Ferguson’s Jamaica College, who lost their first contest to Hydel High, returned to winning ways with a 2-1 win over reigning Walker Cup champions Tivoli High in Group Two.

Elsewhere in the group, many-time champions St George’s College came from behind to secure a 1-1 stalemate with Hydel at the Ashenheim Stadium.

With those results, St George’s College remain atop the group on four points, same as Hydel but with a slightly better goal difference. Jamaica College occupies third position on three points, with Tivoli Gardens now out of contention for a semi-final berth.

In Group Two, Jaheim McLean’s all-important goal lifted Kingston College to a 1-0 win over perennial rivals St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) in a clash which was a repeat of last year’s semi-finals.

It was another lively clash between the two that could have gone either way, but Mclean’s 18th-minute strike proved the difference, as Mona High and St Catherine high played out a 1-1 stalemate in the other group fixture.

The win saw the North Street-based Kingston College to the summit of the group on four points, one ahead of STATHS, while Mona (two points) and St Catherine (one point), remain in contention heading into Friday’s final round of games.

In the feature contest at Stadium East, Kingston College fired the first warning shot through Demario Dailey, who attempted an acrobatic finish that just went wide of the target.

STATHS settled into their rhythm and controlled the tempo of the game from there on, as they created a few half chances of their own which they failed to make count.

The Bumper Hall-based team was caught napping when a quickly taken freekick found McLean open and the player sporting the number 10 jersey had a decent first touch and an even better finish to send the North Street fans into a frenzy.

Though Kingston College led the contest, STATHS looked the more dominant outfit and the Phillip Williams-coached team almost pulled level on the stroke of halftime. A delightful strike from Alexavier Gooden from about 40 yards out rattled the underside of the crossbar and bounced on the goal line.

STATHS maintained the momentum on the resumption and should have pulled level three minutes in, but Andre Salmon went for power instead of accuracy from deep inside the 18-yard box. He was left annoyed by his poor decision.

With Kingston College content on sitting back, STATHS again went close in the 70th minute. Taraine Hall found time and space inside the final third for a stinging left-footed effort that was well saved by Malique Williams diving to his left.

The famed purples, much like they did at the start, had the last attack of the game, but Dailey’s effort from a distance came off the upright.

Winning coach Vassell Reynolds praised his young charges for their execution.

“I am very proud. It was a tough game, we knew it was going to come down to the last 20 minutes, so we relied on fitness. I believe we are a lot fitter than we think, so kudos to the boys they have been working very hard and I think it was a masterful performance from them,” Reynolds said in a post-game interview.

His counterpart Williams also felt his team gave a good showing.

“It was a good performance, we turned off one time and we got punished, but apart from that, the guys displayed some good football. This is a setback because it makes the last game (against Mona) a little tougher, but we have to go and do what we have to do,” he noted.

Tuesday’s results

Group One

Mona 1, St Catherine 1

Kingston College 1, STATHS 0

Group Two

Jamaica College 2, Tivoli High 1

St George’s College 1, Hydel High 1

Friday’s fixtures

Group One

STATHS vs Mona

Kingston College vs St Catherine

Group Two

Hydel High vs Tivoli High

Jamaica College vs St George’s College

Last year’s beaten finalist St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS), former champions St George’s College and the highly-touted Hydel High, all registered wins to kick start the quarterfinals of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup on Saturday.

The Phillip Williams-coached STATHS continued their rich vein of form with a 2-0 win over Anthony Patrick's St Catherine High in their Group One encounter at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.

In the other group contest played at Jamaica College’s Ashenheim Stadium, Vassell Reynold’s Kingston College came from behind to secure a 1-1 stalemate with the Craig Butler-conditioned Mona High.

With those results, STATHS occupy pole position on three points, with Kingston College and Mona High on a point each, as the battle for urban area schoolboy supremacy intensifies.

That said, Davion Ferguson’s reigning champions Jamaica College will have to play catch up in Group Two, as they were edged 1-0 by the Devon Anderson-coached Hydel in the feature contest at the Ashenheim Stadium.

Meanwhile, Neville “Bertis” Bell’s many-time champions St George’s College also brought their vein of form into play with a workmanlike 2-0 win over reigning Walker Cup champions Tivoli High, coached by Christopher Nicholas.

With the win, St George’s College head the group one three points with a one goal difference over Hydel, also on three points. The pointless Jamaica College and Tivoli High will have a chance to get on the board when they square off on Tuesday.

At the same time, St George’s College and Hydel will do battle, while in Group One, Mona High and St Catherine will lock horns with Kingston College and STATHS renewing their rivalry. The games are scheduled for Stadium East and Jamaica College.  

Saturday’s results

Group One

STATHS 2, St Catherine 0

Mona High 1, Kingston College 1

Group Two

St George’s College 2, Tivoli High 0

Jamaica College 1, Hydel 0

 

Tuesday’s schedule

Group One

2:30pm: Mona High vs St Catherine @Jamaica College

4:30pm: Kingston College vs STATHS @ Stadium East

Group Two

2:30pm: Jamaica College vs Tivoli High @ Stadium East

4:30pm: St George’s College vs Hydel @ Jamaica College

Defending champions Kingston College, 22-time champions St. George’s College and defending Walker Cup champions St. Catherine High all scored wins on a goal-filled Friday in the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup.

Friday’s action saw 32 goals being scored in just four matches with the highest scoring game being St. Catherine’s 10-0 win over St. Mary’s College at the Owen Palmer Oval.

St. Catherine now have 16 points from six outings and are level on points with leaders Jamaica College in Group B, trailing them by 10 on goal difference.

Kingston College secured a 9-0 victory over Ardenne at Stadium East for their sixth win in as many games to remain three points clear of their North Street neighbours St. George’s College in second.

St. George’s got their own 9-0 victory over Meadowbrook at Winchester Park to move to 15 points while Calabar and Waterford played out a 2-2 draw at Calabar in the other group game. Waterford are third with 11 points while Calabar are fourth with eight.

30-time champions Jamaica College were held to a 0-0 draw by St. Catherine High in their ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup fixture at the Spanish Town Prison Oval on Friday.

JC are now second in Group B with one win and a draw in their first two games. Group leaders St. Jago High got their second win in as many games with a 5-1 win over hosts, St. Mary’s College. In the group’s other game, Cedar Grove were beaten 1-0 at home by Holy Trinity.

In Group E, Mona High beat Hydel 3-1 at Royal Lakes to move to six points and lead the group on goal difference. Wolmer’s Boys are also unbeaten so far after securing a 2-0 win over Kingston High at Breezy Castle. Camperdown and Papine High played out a 1-1 draw at the Alpha Institute in the group’s other clash.

In Saturday’s Group D fixtures, STATHS got their second win with a comprehensive 5-0 win over Dunoon at home while Norman Manley beat Tarrant 1-0 at Maxfield Park.

Action continues on Tuesday with 10 matches. In Group F, Jose Marti will host Kingston Technical, Clan Carthy will take on Excelsior at the Alpha Institute while Cumberland will host Campion College.

In Group C, Haile Selassie will visit Tivoli, Charlie Smith will take on Edith Dalton James at the Tony Spalding Sports Complex while Vauxhall will take on Bridgeport at home.

Tarrant will host Dunoon in the lone Group D fixture.

In Group E, Hydel will tackle Kingston High at Royal Lakes, Papine will host Wolmer’s Boys while St. Catherine and St. Jago will do battle at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.

Camperdown High led all qualifiers to the Championship of America High School Boys 4x100m final as the 2022 Penn Relays continued at Franklin Field in Philadelphia on Friday.

The team of Roshawn Clarke, Rimando Thomas, Junior Harris and Nickoy Drummond sped to 40.96 to advance as the fastest qualifiers.

Saturday’s final will also see the likes of St. Jago (41.06), Jamaica College (41.20), STETHS (41.48), Calabar (41.73), St. Catherine High (41.78), Excelsior (41.84) and Herbert Morrison (41.90) in the field.

Jamaica College was the fastest qualifier for the High School Boys 4x800m final. The team of Khandale Frie, Omarion Davis, Handal Roban and Kemarrio Bygrave ran 7:53.41 to be the only Caribbean team to advance to Saturday’s final.

In the field, Edwin Allen’s Trevor Gunzell (61.79) and Jamaica College’s Raquil Broderick (59.43) were the top two finishers in the High School Boys discus. Bergen Catholic’s Benjamin Shue was third with 58.82m.

Carifta U-20 champion and record holder Keyshawn Strachan of the Bahamas won the High School Boys javelin with a throw of 72.48m representing St. John’s College. Jose Santana of Eugenio Guerra Cruz in Puerto Rico was second with 60.29m while Wyoming Area’s Drew Mruk was third with 58.60m.

Jamaica once again got the top two spots, this time in the High School Boys shot put thanks to Edwin Allen’s Christopher Young (19.87m) and Calabar’s Kobe Lawrence (19.68m). Joe Licata of Gill St. Bernard’s was third with 18.75m.

Dejone Raymond of STETHS cleared 2.05m to win the High School Boys high jump ahead of South Brunswick’s Damarion Potts (1.99m) and Kingston College’s Aaron McKenzie (1.99m).

Jamaica College’s Uroy Ryan was second in the High School Boys long jump with 7.54m behind Lawrenceville School’s Gregory Foster (7.59m). Altoona’s Jake Adams was a distant third with 7.08m.

Kingston College’s standout long and triple jumper Jaydon Hibbert jumped out to 15.94m to win the High School Boys triple jump ahead of Valley Stream North’s Ryan John (15.02m) and Brandon Hutchinson of St. Augustine’s in the Bahamas (14.93m).

 

 

 

 

 

St. Catherine High secured back-to-back Walker Cup titles with a 1-0 win over Kingston Technical in the final at Stadium East on Saturday.

Despite what the final score suggests, it was a dominant display from St. Catherine who came close to opening the scoring in the 5th minute when Dwight Gentles hit the crossbar with a left-footed strike.

They once again found themselves unlucky when a right-footed shot from Jevin Parkinson cannoned off the left upright in the 57th minute.  Their persistence was eventually rewarded when they took the lead with the only goal of the game, a well-placed 89th-minute header from substitute Dillion Richards.

 

Mona High and defending champions St. Catherine High will contest the 2022 Walker Cup final after securing semi-final wins at Stadium East today.

Mona High secured a comfortable 5-0 win over Kingston Technical to advance to the final.

Two long range strikes from Romario Thomas in the 27th and 44th minutes allowed Mona to go into halftime with a 2-0 lead.

In the second half, goals from Robinho Gordon in the 49th, Kenaldo Brown in the 54th, and Damoy Whitfield in the 73rd propelled the St. Andrew-based school to the final.

St. Catherine High beat Excelsior High 2-1 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw to progress to the final.

Javauney Simms gave Excelsior the lead in the 36th minute but St. Catherine equalized in the 46th minute through a brilliant strike from Nickyle Ellis.

The two teams then endured a ridiculous penalty shootout, which saw them miss their first six combined penalties before St. Catherine held their nerve and scored their last two to advance.

Mona will be looking for their first Walker Cup title, while St. Catherine will be looking to become back-to-back winners of the knockout competition.

 

In a matter of weeks, St. Andrew Technical have gone from being out of the Manning Cup to being in the semi-finals.

After originally finishing fourth in Group B behind Camperdown, Tivoli and Excelsior, they advanced to the quarterfinal round as a second-placed team after Camperdown and Tivoli were disqualified from the competition for using ineligible players.

On Friday at Jamaica College, they played out a 1-1 draw with Mona High to advance from Group 1 along with defending champions Jamaica College to the last four of the competition.

JC finished with a perfect nine points from three games with a 3-1 win over St. Catherine at Stadium East.

On Saturday, Kingston College (KC) secured the top spot in Group 2 with a 2-0 win over Excelsior also at Jamaica College.

Charlie Smith beat Kingston Technical4-1 in the other Group 2 game to advance alongside KC.

KC will play STATHS in one semi-final and JC will play Charlie Smith in the other.

Meanwhile, Mona, Excelsior, Kingston Technical and St. Catherine High will contest the Walker Cup.

In the daCosta Cup, Dinthill Technical and The Mannings School advanced to the semi-finals on Friday.

Dinthill won Zone 1 after beating Edwin Allen 1-0 at Drax Hall, their third win in as many games.

Christiana beat William Knibb 3-2 in the other Zone 1 match at Drax Hall.

Mannings played to a 1-1 draw with Munro College at STETHS to finish with seven points from their three matches and win Zone 2.

Vere Technical and Happy Grove played a seven-goal thriller in the other Zone 2 game at STETHS on the day, with the former prevailing 4-3.

On Saturday, Garvey Maceo pulled off something special to get into the semi-finals.

Entering their final match against St. Thomas Technical at Kirkvine, trailing STETHS by three goals on goal difference, Garvey Maceo produced a massive 12-0 victory over St Thomas Technical to win Zone 3 and advance.

STETHS tried their best with a 6-0 win over Frome Technical at home but it wasn’t enough.

Garvey Maceo and STETHS both finished with seven points but Garvey Maceo’s massive win meant they ended with a goal difference of +16 whereas STETHS, with a big win of their own, ended up with a goal difference of +11.

Edwin Allen, Christiana, Munro College, Vere Technical, STETHS and Frome, as second and third-placed finishers from the respective groups,  have all qualified for the Ben Francis Cup.

The final two qualifiers as well as the final DaCosta Cup semi-finalists will be determined after rescheduled Zone-4 games on Tuesday when Clarendon College play McGrath High and Manchester High and Cornwall College meet.

 

 The two teams that only got into the quarterfinal round of the Manning cup because Camperdown High and Tivoli Gardens were disqualified, won their opening matches of the Manning Cup quarter-finals.

Excelsior and STATHS had originally finished third and fourth in Group B of the Manning Cup preliminary round but advanced after Camperdown and Tivoli were disqualified from the tournament for using ineligible players.

STATHS won their Group 1 opener 4-1 over St. Catherine High on Friday while Excelsior High beat Kingston Technical 3-1 in their Group 2 opener on Saturday.

Jamaica College beat Mona High 2-0 in the other Group 1 match on Friday and Kingston College got by Charlie Smith 3-0 in the other Group 2 match on Saturday.

The quarter-final round of the DaCosta Cup also got underway on Saturday with Dinthill Technical blanking Christiana High 4-0. Meanwhile, Edwin Allen beat William Knibb 2-0 in the second Zone 1 game on the day.

Mannings were the only Zone 2 winners Saturday, beating Vere Technical 3-2.

Munro College, which have struggled for form played to a 1-1 draw with Happy Grove in the other Zone game on the day.

Munro entered that game on the back of two straight losses in their Zone C playoff games against Lacovia and B.B. Coke.

In Zone 3, Garvey Maceo continued their fantastic form this season by beating Frome 2-0 while STETHS easily got past St. Thomas Technical 6-1.

Elsewhere, defending champions Clarendon College and Manchester High got wins in Zone 4 action.

Clarendon College defeated Cornwall College 2-1 while Manchester High ran out 4-0 winners over McGrath High.

Quarterfinal action in both competitions resumes on Tuesday.

 

 

Camperdown and Tivoli Gardens High have both been removed from the remainder of the Manning Cup after it was found that they both used ineligible players.

As both teams were in Group B, they will be replaced in the quarterfinal round by the third and fourth-placed teams from the group, Excelsior High and STATHS.

The new list of teams advancing to the quarterfinal round now reads: Jamaica College, Kingston Technical, Excelsior High, STATHS, Kingston College, Mona High, Charlie Smith, and St. Catherine High.

JC, Mona, STATHS, and St, Catherine High will be in Group 1 while KC, Excelsior, Charlie Smith, and Kingston Tech will be in Group 2.

Each team will play each other once and the top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.

 

In daCosta Cup action on Saturday, William Knibb stayed perfect with a 5-0 win over Maldon, at home, for their fifth win in as many games.

The first game of the day at William Knibb featured Holland High and Herbert Morrison playing out a 1-1 draw.

In the other Zone A games, at Irwin High, Cornwall College got a 2-0 win over Spot Valley and Irwin beat St. James High 3-0.

William Knibb leads Zone A with 15 points followed by Cornwall College with 10 and Herbert Morrison with nine.  Each team in Zone A has two matches left.

Munro College confirmed their place in the next round as Zone C winners with a 1-0 win over B.B. Coke in the first game of a doubleheader at STETHS.

The second game at STETHS saw Lacovia and Maggotty draw 2-2.

Munro will be joined in the next round by STETHS who got a 4-0 win over Mt. St. Joseph, at Kirkvine, to finish second in the zone with 10 points.

Holmwood Technical beat DeCarteret College 4-0, at Manchester High, to move to fourth in Zone D on seven points, three behind Manchester and Christiana and one behind Bellefield.

Defending champions, Clarendon College, are out of the competition as Lennon High and Edwin Allen advanced from Zone E.

Lennon topped the zone with 11 points and Edwin Allen finished second with 10, beating out Clarendon College on goal difference.

Lennon and Edwin Allen played out a 0-0 draw at Turners Field, meaning a draw would’ve been enough for Clarendon College to advance alongside Lennon.

That didn’t happen, however, as they were beaten 1-0 by Glenmuir, at Glenmuir, ending their hopes of defending their title.

Denbigh beat Claude McKay 5-1 in the other Zone E game on the day.

St. Thomas Technical and Happy Grove advanced from Zone G.

St. Thomas Technical finished as zone winners with eight points and Happy Grove finished second with five points after a 6-2 win over Port Antonio High at Lynch Park.

Happy Grove finished with the same number of points and same goal difference as Paul Bogle High but finished ahead of them on goals scored with six compared to four.

Paul Bogle drew 1-1 with Seaforth, at York Oval, in the other zone game today.

In Zone H, Ocho Rios High and Dinthill Technical both scored 3-0 wins over York Castle High and Charlemont respectively in a doubleheader at Drax Hall.

Dinthill moved to 13 points to strengthen their zone lead, while Ocho Rios and Charlemont are second and third with eight points each.

 Manning Cup

In Group B Manning Cup action, Tivoli beat Dunoon Technical 4-2 and Excelsior and STATHS played out a 3-3 draw in a doubleheader at Stadium East.

At the Spanish Town Prison Oval, St. Jago secured a 1-0 win over Jose Marti while Camperdown beat Jonathan Grant 1-0.

Camperdown remain perfect at the top of Group B with 15 points with Tivoli second on 10 and Excelsior third on eight.

In Group C, St. Catherine High beat Papine 3-0 in a 3:00pm game at Jamaica College.

The win moves St. Catherine to second in Group C on seven points behind KC with nine and ahead of Mona with four.

 

 

St. Catherine High got their second win in as many games to move to the top of Group C as action continued in the Manning Cup competition on Thursday with a 26-0 hammering of St Mary's College at Stadium East in Kingston.

It was the largest margin of victory in the competition in decades.

Joel Palmer and Nickel Ellis each scored six goals for St. Catherine who led 19-0 at halftime.

However, despite the massive margin of victory, St. Catherine High's assistant coach Andre Daley was still not satisfied with the team's performance.

“The most important thing is that we got the three points but we didn’t play to our full potential today,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kingston College smashed Clan Carthy 7-0 in the early game at Stadium East to move to second in the group and join St. Catherine with six points from two games, trailing only on goal difference.

Elsewhere in the group, Mona High rebounded from their opening-day loss to KC by beating Papine 10-0 at Jamaica College to move to fourth place in the group with three points from their two games behind St. Catherine, KC and Wolmer’s, whose next match is against KC on November 24, at Stadium East.

Wolmer's and Mona both have three points but Wolmer's are third thanks to their 13-0 thumping of St. Mary's College in their first game.

 

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