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It was a sea of green and yellow that swallowed the National Stadium yesterday in cheers of jubilation as Excelsior High defeated Jamaica College (JC) 2-0 in the ISSA/WATA Manning Cup final to lift the title for the first time in 21 years.
Excelsior’s ever-reliable marksman Kimarly Scott scored the opening goal for the Eagles in the 56th minute before Kivann Salmon put the result to bed with his goal in injury time (97th minute).
Earlier in the afternoon, St Catherine High secured their third Walker Cup title when they dethroned Mona High 4-3 on penalties after a 4-4 draw in regulation time.
In the day’s feature game, Excelsior and JC entertained both sets of fans with a hotly contested match that seemed to tilt in either team’s favour at the drop of a hat.
Keon Broderick, Excelsior’s head coach, was an elated figure after the final whistle as, struggling to keep his voice, praised his team for their valiant effort on the field.
He said every single player on the day had given their all in both the defensive and attacking areas on the pitch.
“We knew all season long that they were doing really well. They were solid, they were compact, they were organised and we asked them for a strong defensive performance today and they gave us everything they had,” Broderick praised.
“One of my philosophies is 11 men defend and 11 men attack. When you look at Kimarly Scott, who was the leading goalscorer last year and he is going to be the golden boot winner this year, he was one of the players who came back at right-back and he was making some crucial interceptions and some crucial tackles.”
END-TO-END ACTION
It was end-to-end action in the opening exchanges as both teams created chances that could have put either of the teams ahead in the first half.
JC had a brilliant opportunity on the half-hour mark when Jamone Lyle was found inside the box but he could not direct his effort on target.
They had another opportunity as a ball across the face of goal seemed destined to find Jabarie Howell who had an empty goal at his mercy, but Excelsior defender Rojawn Small was on hand to put in a last-ditch clearance to deny the opportunity.
Excelsior had their chances as well, and Terrence Williams let loose a rocket of a hit from outside the box that was eventually smothered by JC’s goalkeeper Mashell Dennis.
JC handed Excelsior the lead in the early minutes of the second half, however, when a poor pass around the box was intercepted by Salmon who played in Scott.
Wasting no time, this season’s joint golden boot winner finished expertly from inside the box with a first-time effort.
JC upped the ante as they went searching for an equaliser but could not break down a robust Excelsior defence.
Excelsior’s goalkeeper Jamari Gordon was the hero of the second half as he stood as a brick wall between the lines for the Eagles.
He made a double save in the 83rd minute to deny JC what seemed a sure goal and again turned up trumps a minute later, rushing off his line to clear a dangerous ball in his penalty area.
With time dwindling and only seconds left on the clock, Excelsior shattered any JC hopes left when Salmon was found free at the back post to slot home from point-blank range.
The win secured Excelsior’s eighth Manning Cup title in the school’s history, and their first hold on the trophy since their last triumph in 2004.
JC, however, will go yet another year without the missing crown they last held in 2022.
English (US) ·