Eltham perfect after clipping Hydel again

IF THEIR first encounter was epic, then their second meeting was its critically acclaimed sequel, as Eltham edged Hydel 2-1 in a tightly contested Zone A finale to finish atop the ISSA Manning Cup group with a perfect record.

Playing with the title of zone winners on the line, Eltham and Hydel showed their pedigree, leaving it all on the field.

Eltham took the game to their opponents when Jevaughn Grant opened the scoring in the 13th minute of play.

They would double their advantage on the stroke of half-time when Santana Headley struck home to send Eltham 2-0 up heading into the second stanza.

Room for improvement

Eltham head coach Gregory Allen said he is pleased with his players for getting the job done against a tough Hydel unit, and maintaining their place atop the zone.

However, Allen said he has seen areas of the team which will need improvement before they are ready to take on the second round, come Saturday.

“The fact that we’re in the winners’ column and the fact that we collected all three points today, I’m really pleased at the fact that we were able to shut them out,” he said praising.

“Now, we just have to get back to the rectangular surface and put in some work. I see where we have to put in some work, especially in the midfield area. We also have to look at the defensive aspect of our team as well.”

Hydel did not go down quietly, as last year’s beaten Manning Cup finalists found their footing in the second half of the contest.

D’Sean Henry pulled one back in the 64th minute but, despite constant pressure, Hydel could not find the equaliser before the full-time whistle.

Hydel head coach Devon Anderson was a frustrated figure during his post-match interview, ruing the missed opportunities by his team to come away with the result.

He said he felt, with the chances his team created, Hydel should have walked away victorious and as Zone A winners.

“With our failure to score our chances and the opponents scoring their chances, it would have always come out on the losing end, no matter how much chances you get,” he said.

“What Eltham did in the first half was they put away two of our mistakes, hence we went down 2-1. If we had taken the opportunities that we had provided for ourselves in the first half, then the game would have been completely different.”

The result means Eltham finish Zone A with 24 points from their eight games ahead of Hydel’s tally of 18 in second place.

Eltham will now contest Group Two of the second round alongside Tivoli and Excelsior, while Hydel are in Group Three, along with Kingston College (KC), St Andrew Technical High (STATHS), and Wolmer’s Boys’.

Yesterday’s Results

Waterford 0-2 Jonathan Grant

Bridgeport 0-5 Excelsior

Hydel 1-2 Eltham