Manning Cup quarterfinal spots up for grabs

Three more schools will book their spots in the quarterfinals of the ISSA Manning Cup competition as second-round action resumes today with fixtures from groups One and Three taking centrestage.

With Kingston College (KC), Excelsior High and St Catherine High having already secured their passage to the next round, there are five remaining spots left to be filled ahead of today’s fixtures.

Topping the list of contenders are reigning Manning Cup champions Mona High who sit just a point away from quarterfinals having secured a perfect start to the second round.

Mona lead Group One with maximum six points, with Campion College and St George’s College (STGC) trailing behind in second and third place, respectively, both tied on three.

St Jago High sit at the foot of the table without a point and already mathematically eliminated from advancing.

Mona will take on STGC in their final second round fixture at the Ashenheim Stadium knowing should they avoid defeat, they will move on to the next round.

For STGC, anything short of a win against the defending champions could see them eliminated from the Manning Cup as they look to edge Campion College for a spot in the next round.

Despite being tied on points, STGC trail Campion on goal difference after falling 3-0 to the Campionites in their opening game last week.

Campion travel to a downtrodden St Jago High for their final fixture and will look to avoid defeat against the Spanish Town-based team, which is determined to end the second round with a positive result.

In Group Three, Hydel High, St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) and Wolmer’s Boys’ all stand a chance of advancing to the next round with KC already securing one of the two automatic spots.

Hydel sit second in the group with three points, with STATHS and Wolmer’s third and fourth place, respectively, with a point a piece.

Hydel will face off against Wolmer’s needing a win to secure their spot in the quarterfinals, while STATHS will face the tough task of defeating an unbeaten KC-unit to keep their hopes alive.

The top-two teams of each zone will advance to the quarterfinals while the bottom two teams will contest the first round of the ISSA Walker Cup competition.

All matches are set to kick off at 3 p.m.

Today’s games

St Jago vs Campion College at G C Foster College

Mona vs St George’s College at Jamaica College

Hydel vs Wolmer’s Boys’ at Spanish Town Prison Oval

Kingston College vs STATHS at Stadium East