Beyond encouraging excellence on the football field, Digicel has stepped up its support for the 2023 schoolboy football season through donation of two $100,000 scholarships to Manning Cup players from non-traditional high schools. Kingston Technical High's Nickoy Walters, and Kishawn Valentine from Haile Selassie High, emerged winners of the Digicel scholarships. The money will go a far way toward paying for their tuition and other school expenses.

The boys came out on top of a field of fellow high school footballers who were tasked with writing a compelling essay to Digicel justifying their eligibility for the sponsorship. They were urged by their coaches to enter competition and write about the significance of balancing sports and academics.

Walters and Valentine expressed their gratitude for the scholarships, knowing that it will fill a big financial gap. Walters expressed, “It means a lot to me. I needed the help to better my education because things are very expensive, and I can’t afford it right now and I appreciate it a lot. I just want to thank Digicel.” He added, “I am in Sixth Form right now studying Business, and I want to major in Accounts. Digicel is one of the best companies right now, and I appreciate it a lot.”

An equally appreciative Valentine who looks forward to studying overseas, conveyed the profound impact of the scholarship on his future: “I feel really good. It means a lot and words cannot explain. I want this to help me get a better education overseas.”
Acknowledging the difficulty in choosing recipients due to impressive efforts from all applicants, Head of Communications and Corporate Affairs for Digicel, Elon Parkinson expressed his satisfaction with the selection of Walters and Valentine. He extended well-wishes for their academic pursuits, while emphasising that the scholarship sets up the boys for achieving excellence later in life. Parkinson praised the coaches' efforts in emphasising the holistic development of the student-athletes.

 “Here we have two students from non-traditional high schools who were tasked with writing an award-winning essay to Digicel as to why they deserve this $100,000 sponsorship. These two boys came out on top. We are elated with the efforts from the coaches to rally their boys, which further demonstrates the ISSA Digicel Schoolboy Football competition is not all about talent on the field,” Parkinson concluded.

 

STATHS and St. George’s College both secured wins to stay unbeaten in the Group stage of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup on Friday.

STATHS, who have already secured a spot in the next round, got by Cedar Grove 2-0 for their ninth win in as many games in Group D. Excelsior moved within nine points of STATHS in second with a 3-1 win over Bridgeport.

In Group F play, St. George’s moved to a perfect 24 points from eight games thanks to a 1-0 win over Waterford. Campion College moved within five points of the leaders in second after a 1-0 win of their own against Jose Marti while the day’s other group game saw Pembroke Hall and Ardenne play out a 2-2 draw.

St. George’s College defeated Ardenne High 3-0 in ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup action on Wednesday.

The game started on Tuesday and the 22-time Manning Cup champions took the lead through Brian Burkett in the 13th minute before play was halted by weather in the 55th minute.

The game was then rescheduled and started at an earlier time on Wednesday and the light blues picked up where they left off.

It took them only two minutes into the restart to double their lead as Adrian Reid Jr. slotted home in the 57th.

Matthew Spence then later added a third in the 88th to put the tie to bed. STGC now extends their unbeaten run to five games and is comfortably atop Zone F on 15 points, six points ahead of second placed Jose Marti and eight ahead of Campion College in third.

The five other games scheduled to take place on Wednesday were postponed due to weather.

Despite conceding for the first time this season, last year's beaten finalist St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) extended their unbeaten run in the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup with a 4-1 beating of Excelsior High in a Group D top-of-the-table clash at Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex on Saturday.

A brace from Leon Brown (2nd, 68th) and one each from Kalonji Watson (47th) and Andre Salmon (70th), made the points safe for the Bumper Hall-based team. Jkivann Salmon (75th) got Excelsior's consolation. 

With the win, STATHS are now sole leaders of the group on 15 points, three ahead of Excelsior, who were suffering their first defeat of the season.

Winning coach Phillip Williams expressed pleasure with his team's progress so far.

 "I am very happy today was a good test for my team, I think the Excelsior team is a good team and we embrace these types of games, and the boys showed their quality today. This is a more mature team, so we keep doing what we have been doing and it's paying off. We have another shot to win the title this year and we will give it our best try," he said in a post-match interview. 

It was a frantic start by STATHS, as Brown picked up a loose ball and worked his way around two defenders before unleashing a stinging left-footer from the top of the 18-yard box that gave Jadavin Waul, in goal for Excelsior, no chance at a save.

Though STATHS bossed possession from there and had a few chances from which they could have converted, Excelsior were not without hope and did play their game but found the Bumper Hall team's defence in defiant mode.

As the score went unchanged at the break, STATHS, like they did at the start, came out spiritedly on the resumption and doubled the lead two minutes in when Watson fired home from the top of the 18-yard box, beating Waul all ends up.

They continued to apply consistent pressure and pushed even further ahead courtesy of Brown, who applied an easy finish from close range to a Dwayne Atkinson pass, moving his tally to 10 goals this season.

And before Excelsior could catch their breaths Salmon delivered another punch when he fired home while under pressure from two defenders.

However, the Mountain View Avenue-based team gave their fans something to celebrate, as Jkivann Salmon finished off a well-worked build up with a sweet right-footed strike from deep inside the 18-yard box, beating STATHS's custodian Jaheem Williams, at his near post.

Excelsior's Head coach Keon Broderick took heart from his team's performance to an extent. 

"The goal we scored is evident that we have quality in the team. But credit must be given to STATHS the way they transitioned and came at us really quickly. I also thought we could have done much better defensively, but as we move on into the latter stages I think we will be much better," Broderick said.

Meanwhile, defending Walker Cup champions Tivoli High were among other winners on the day, as they moved to the top of group B thanks to a dominant 7-0 win over Cumberland. The win saw Tivoli up to 10 points from four games, one point more than defending champions Jamaica College.

 
Saturday's results
St Catherine 6, Holy Trinity 0
STATHS 4, Excelsior 1
Cumberland 0, Tivoli 7
Haile Selassie 5, Greater Portmore 0
Jamaica College vs Meadowbrook (rained out)
Eltham 4, Denham Town 1
Jonathan Grant 2, Dunoon 1
Wolmer's Boys 4, Donald Quarrie 0
Papine 4, St Jago 3
Vauxhall 1, Ascot 1
Ardenne 2, Jose Marti 3
Pembroke Hall 0, St George’s College 4
Kingston Technical 3, Spanish Town 1
Norman Manley 7, Edith Dalton 0

Kingston College now have five wins from as many games as action continued in the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup on Wednesday.

KC, who initially opened their season with an 0-4 defeat to Hydel before that result was overturned to a 3-0 win after it was deemed that their opponents used an ineligible player, defeated Charlie Smith 1-0 to move to 15 points from their five outings, six points ahead of Calabar in second and nine ahead of Hydel in third. Charlie Smith also have six points in fourth.

Elsewhere in Group B, defending champions Jamaica College secured a 2-1 win over Kingston Technical to move to the top of the group with nine points from four games, two points ahead of Tivoli in second and three ahead of Kingston Technical in third.

Group C action saw Haile Selassie continue their winning ways, moving to 15 points from five games with a 1-0 win over Eltham. The other game in the group saw Dunoon Technical defeat Denham Town 3-2 for their first win of the season.

In Group E, Mona High hammered Edith Dalton 6-0 to move to five wins out of five.

Hydel High, Kingston College and Calabar High are all equal on nine points after action in Group A of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup on Saturday.

Hydel defeated former champions Charlie Smith 1-0 to secure their third win in as many games. They are currently leading the group on goal difference having scored 15 goals and not conceded any.

Kingston College, who opened their campaign with a 0-4 loss to Hydel, hammered Penwood 14-0 to get their third win in a row in second while Calabar handed Camperdown their third consecutive defeat with a 5-2 score-line.

Elsewhere, Mona High got their fourth win in as many games in Group E with a 2-1 win over St. Catherine High.

Defending ISSA Manning Cup champions have been docked three points following an investigation that revealed that the school used an ineligible player in their season-opening victory over Tivoli Gardens Comprehensive High School on September 9.

In the recent development, the Inter Secondary Schools Sports Association's (ISSA) Disciplinary Committee convened to address the issue pertaining to the alleged utilization of an ineligible player by Jamaica College in their season-opener clash against Tivoli Gardens High.

After a thorough investigation, the Disciplinary Committee reached a decisive verdict on the matter. It was determined that Jamaica College indeed fielded an ineligible player and as a consequence, Old Hope Road school will forfeit all three points initially earned in the match, and Tivoli Gardens High will be awarded the points with a revised score-line of 3-0 for the game.

The disciplinary committee also ruled that the player in question will continue to be ineligible for participation in the 2023 Schoolboy Football Competition.

This ruling by the Disciplinary Committee reshapes the dynamics of the Manning Cup standings. Tivoli Gardens High now assumes the leading position in Zone B with seven points, while Kingston Technical follows closely in second place with six points.

Jamaica College, despite having three points deducted, occupies the fourth spot, with the consolation that they have one match in hand to potentially amend their standing.

When contacted Jamaica College's Head coach Davion Ferguson referred the question to ISSA.

“You cannot play a player without registering the player because you cannot put him on your match card if he is ineligible. So, ISSA has to answer that,” he told Sportsmax.tv.

ISSA's competitions director Ewan Scott explained how they arrived at the ruling.

"Sometimes people get privileged based on the information presented. However, after the protest came in, we investigated further and took the necessary action," Scott shared.

"The player was registered based on the initial information provided. So, it's basically a case of them presenting us incorrect information and after the protest came, we conducted further investigation," he added.

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

 

Hydel High confirmed their status as serious title contenders for this season’s ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup title with a stunning 4-0 win over 16-time winners Kingston College at Royal Lakes on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Zone A, Calabar opened their campaign with a 1-0 win over Penwood.

In Zone B, Kingston Technical secured a 3-1 win over Cumberland while Spanish Town and Meadowbrook played out a 2-2 draw at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.

STATHS were the second biggest winners on the day with a 6-0 drubbing of Bridgeport in Zone D action. Also in Zone D, Excelsior beat Clan Carthy 3-0 while Tarrant secured a 2-1 win over Cedar Grove.

Edith Dalton James were the day’s biggest winners with a 7-0 score line over St. Mary’s College while St. Catherine High beat Innswood 3-0 in Zone E action.

In Zone G, Wolmer’s Boys beat Donald Quarrie 6-1.

Jamaica Premier League club, Portmore United Football Club has signed national player Alex Marshall on a two-and-a-half-year contract.

 

Outstanding schoolboy footballer Dujuan ‘Whisper’ Richards is confident he already has the tools needed to contribute meaningfully to the Jamaican national senior team.

In recent weeks, a dominant season in the country’s high school level program has seen the player score 29 goals and contribute 19 assists to Kingston College. 

An impressive haul by any standard, but more so it is the quality in some of his finishing that has sparked calls for the player to be given an opportunity with Jamaica’s senior squad.

Not everyone agrees with that particular assessment, however, as some believe the step-up in opponent quality might be a gap too far to bridge at this stage of the player’s young career and might even do more harm than good.

High school players being given an opportunity to feature for the country’s national team is rare but not unprecedented.  In years gone by Kevin ‘Pele’ Wilson another schoolboy football standout, who represented Charlie Smith, was called into the national squad as a 17-year-old, and made his debut against Norway in 1995. 

Another player, Ricardo ‘Bibi’ Gardner, who represented Wolmer’s in the Manning Cup, went on to be arguably the country’s most successful player after being handed his debut as a teenager in 1997, ahead of the country’s historic qualification for the 1998 World Cup.  Based on his tremendous displays many believe Richards deserves similar consideration. He agrees.

“Yes, for sure, right now,” Richards told SportsMax.Tv’s InCaseYouMissedIt, when quizzed about his state of readiness in regard to representing the national team.

“Craig (Butler) has been saying this for like two years, three years now,” he added.

The often controversial Craig Butler is the agent and adoptive father to Aston Villa star Leon Bailey and has had Richards as part of his Phoenix Academy club for the past several years.

"That’s the reason I played Manning Cup to prove myself that nobody is lying, that Craig isn’t lying, my father isn’t lying.  Nobody that has been saying I can play is lying,” he added.

Richards also revealed that the current season of the Manning Cup was his first and will also be his last as the player is expected to explore offers from around Europe.  

Jamaica College are champions of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup for the 31st time after a thrilling 8-7 penalty-shootout win over rivals St. Andrew Technical (STATHS) at Sabina Park on Friday.

The teams, meeting in the decider for the third time in the last six years, played out a tense 1-1 draw in regulation time.

JC took the lead in the 27th minute through a brilliant strike from winger Jaheem Frazer. They almost doubled that advantage ten minutes after the second half commenced when striker Maquan Aldridge rose well but headed a Tarick Ximines cross off the post.

That miss proved to be a big one as STATHS got back on level terms four minutes later when Shakeone Satchwell capitalized on a defensive error to slot home his 14th goal of the season.

With no further goals between the two heavyweights, the dreaded penalty shootout was needed to decide the champion.

JC had the worst possible start in the shootout when Romaine Blake had his penalty saved by STATHS keeper Jaheem Williams.

After that, both teams held their nerve well scoring penalties back and forth before STATHS, at this point with the score being 4-4 in the shootout, had a chance to secure their first Manning Cup crown in 35 years.

Unfortunately for them, substitute Namar Nelson blasted his penalty over the bar, meaning the shootout entered sudden death.

In sudden death, each team converted their first three kicks before Rashaun Frankson became the second STATHS kicker to blast over, giving JC an 8-7 win and a 31st hold on the crown.

Earlier at Sabina Park, Tivoli Gardens High School won their fifth Walker Cup title and first since 2005 after their own 5-4 penalty-shootout win over Haile Selassie High.

Tivoli took the lead when Captain Daniel Watson scored from a close-range header in the 35th minute before Joshua Dewar got Haile Selassie’s equalizer in the 49th minute.

In the resulting penalty-shootout, both teams converted their first four spot kicks before Haile Selassie substitute Tyreece Francis had his kick saved by keeper Shakur Adair.

It will be an All-Clarendon final in this year’s daCosta Cup as Clarendon College and Central High got penalty-shootout wins over the Manning’s School and Manchester High, respectively, in the semi-finals at STETHS on Wednesday.

Clarendon College will get a chance to win their 10th daCosta Cup title and first since 2019 after booking their place in the final with a 5-4 penalty shootout win over the Manning’s School in the first semi-final.

Manning’s took the lead in the 19th minute through a brilliant strike from Jhamaleek Porter before Keheim Dixon equalized for Clarendon College in the 52nd minute.

That score-line held through regulation meaning the finalists would have to be decided via a penalty-shootout. In the end, Clarendon College recovered from missing their first penalty in the shootout and held their nerve to eliminate last year’s finalists.

Their opponents in the final will be Central High who also needed a penalty-shootout to beat Manchester High in the second semi-final.

Central High took the lead through a close-range strike from captain Dylane Clarke in the 24th minute before Manchester equalized through a Nickoy Bartley penalty in the 55th minute.

Their game also ended 1-1 meaning penalties were needed once again. Through 10 penalties, each team only had one miss meaning they entered sudden death. A miss from Manchester’s Tyrese Douglas then set up an opportunity for Central to book a spot in their first ever daCosta Cup final which captain Clarke grabbed with both hands by comfortably slotting home the winning penalty for a 5-4 triumph.

The final will be played on December 3 at 4:15pm at STETHS.

Meanwhile, a new champion will be crowned in the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup after Jamaica College and STATHS got wins over Mona High and defending champions Kingston College, respectively, in Tuesday's semi-finals at the National Stadium.

STATHS, who lost 2-4 to KC in last year's semis, got their revenge with a 3-2 triumph in the day's second game. Shakeone Satchwell opened the scoring for STATHS in the ninth minute before Rashaun Frankinson doubled their lead in the 25th. Nashordo Gibbs cut the deficit to one in the 31st minute before Dwayne Atkinson restored their two-goal lead in the 65th minute.

Dujuan Richards closed the gap again in the 89th minute but that was too little too late.

Joining STATHS in the final will be 30-time champions Jamaica College who got a narrow 2-1 win over Mona High in the earlier game. Donhue Mitchell struck in the sixth minute to give Mona, playing in their first ever semi-final, the early advantage.

JC responded as Tarick Ximines scored the equalizer in the 30th minute before Kevaughn Wilson converted a 58th-minute penalty to secure the victory.

The final will take place on December 2 at 6:15pm at Sabina Park.

This will be the third time in the last six seasons that JC and STATHS have contested the Manning Cup Final, with JC winning both previous meetings in 2017 and 2019.

 

 

Kingston College and Mona High will join Jamaica College and STATHS in the semi-finals of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup after wins in a double-header at Stadium East on Wednesday.

Defending champions Kingston College were first up and followed their 4-0 win over St. Georges College in their first game Saturday with a 5-0 win over Charlie Smith to move to six points from two games.

The second game saw Mona High get their second win in as many games with a 1-0 victory over St. George’s to book their spot in the last four for the first time in the school’s history. KC and Mona will meet on Saturday to determine who will progress as Group A winners while St. George’s College will play Charlie Smith at Jamaica College.

In the Tuesday Group B double-header at the same venue, Jamaica College beat Haile Selassie 2-0 to secure their spot in the last four before STATHS beat Wolmer’s Boys 1-0 to also advance. JC and STATHS will meet on Friday at Stadium East to determine the winners of Group B while Wolmer’s will tackle Haile Selassie at Jamaica College.

St. George’s College, Mona High, Charlie Smith and Haile Selassie all booked spots in the quarterfinal round of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup on Friday.

St. George’s followed up a 4-1 first leg win over Jonathan Grant on Tuesday with a 3-1 win at Winchester Park on Friday for a 7-2 aggregate win.

Mona High continued their unbeaten run so far this season with a 3-1 win over Tivoli at Jamaica College for a 5-1 aggregate score.

Charlie Smith rebounded from a first leg 1-1 draw with Campion College with a 2-0 win at Stadium East to progress while Haile Selassie got past Excelsior 2-1 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw in the second leg at Stadium East.

The other four quarterfinalists will be decided on Saturday. The fixtures and first leg scores are as follows:

Kingston College (0) vs Jose Marti (0) @ Stadium East 3:00pm

Jamaica College (5) vs Norman Manley (0) @Jamaica College

 STATHS (2) vs St. Jago (1) @ Stadium East 1:00pm

St. Catherine (1) vs Wolmer’s (0). @ Spanish Town Prison Oval

 

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