Kemps Hill lock in final round-of-16 place

KEMPS HILL High School became the final team to advance to the round of 16 in the ISSA daCosta Cup football competition after defeating Frome Technical 2-0 in their rescheduled Group 1 match at the Wembley Excellence Centre in Hayes, Clarendon, yesterday.

The game, originally set for last Saturday at Foga Road High, was postponed due to a waterlogged field.

With both teams tied on six points alongside Cornwall College, Kemps Hill’s better goal difference (+2) secured second place behind Cornwall (+13), while Frome ended even.

In the must-win clash, Kemps Hill started strongly and went ahead in the 19th minute. Shamar Daley, who troubled the Frome defence early, was fouled just outside the 18-yard box. From the resulting free kick, Robbinho Rodney dribbled past two defenders before slotting home to make it 1-0.

Frome, led by the skilful Antwayne Campbell and supported by Wayne Mullings and Tessaney Rankine, fought hard to equalise, but Kemps Hill’s defence held firm, keeping their 1-0 lead at half-time.

Three minutes into the second half, Daley again proved instrumental, drawing a foul inside the box to win a penalty. Ricardo Dean calmly converted to double the lead in the 48th.

Kemps Hill dominated the rest of the match, with Daley, Robert Donaldson, and Dalton Francis all creating chances, though they failed to add to the scoreline.

Winning coach Kiegon Mitchell was delighted with his team’s performance and back-to-back, round-of-16 qualification.

“It was a good win. We trained hard for this and studied how Frome played. Their number 10 is their key player, so we put two players on him to limit his impact — and it worked,” he said.

“This win means a lot to the players, the community, and the school, which invests heavily in the programme.”

Frome’s assistant coach, Jermaine Clarke, was disappointed.

“It’s bittersweet. We only needed a point, but credit to Kemps Hill. They came hard and scored early, which disrupted our game plan. Still, we have a young team and the experience will help us next year.”