Unbeaten Manning’s through to round of 16

A SIZZLING performance by The Manning’s School put a stick in the spokes of the BB Coke High School’s wheels, ending their hopes of a round-of-16 berth with a 2-0 victory in the ISSA daCosta Cup competition yesterday at the St Elizabeth High School (STETHS) Sports Complex.

Group 3’s Manning’s, who remain unbeaten, are joined at the top by Christiana High School, who defeated Belair 2-0 yesterday. Both are tied on six points, with Christiana leading on goal difference. Manning’s are yet to concede a goal.

In muddy conditions, Manning’s scored the first goal, courtesy of Dainton Williams, who benefited from a deflection to power one home in the 25th minute. Leontony Coley doubled from a corner delivered in the 45th minute to shatter BB Coke’s dreams.

BB Coke’s manager, Carly Brown, was given a red card in the 78th minute.

While Manning’s were deserved winners, dominating the game, BB Coke may also have themselves to blame for wasting clear-cut chances throughout.

According to the head coach of Manning’s, Patrick Graham, the team emphasised the importance of not losing, rather than winning.

“Today’s game, we knew, would be a difficult one. We know that BB Coke were down but definitely weren’t out. This is their home game,” said Graham.

“We didn’t necessarily need to win, but it was a game we could not lose. Therefore, we decided how we wanted to approach it,” Graham said.

Meanwhile, BB Coke’s head coach, Fitzroy Ambersely, said the team played well but lost because of defensive lapses.

“We started on a high note during the rain. We changed up the system a lot, but we were just a little bit slack in the defensive zone, where we gave away two shots,” Ambersely said, noting those were the only two shots Manning’s took.

Ambersely stated that Manning’s defensive strategy thwarted their attempts.

“We played well but we did not get the chance to score, although we took the chance towards goals,” added Ambersely

Group 4’s Maldon High eliminated Knox College with a 3-0 victory. Maldon are on six points and are tied with Ben Francis champions STETHS, who thrashed Ferncourt 6-1.

Group 2’s Rusea’s High were 3-0 winners over Petersfield, while Group 1’s Kemps Hill, who were on the verge of elimination, beat Cedric Titus in a thrilling 10-goal encounter, eventually coming out 6-4 victors.

Frome clipped Cornwall 2-1 to climb atop Group 1 with six points. This is the first loss for Cornwall since the beginning of the season.

The second round resumes on Saturday.

Yesterday’s games

Cedric Titus 4-6 Kemps Hill

Petersfield 0-3 Rusea’s

B.B. Coke 0-2 Manning’s

Ferncourt 1-6 STETHS

Glenmuir 10-0 St. Mary High

Maldon 3-0 Knox College

Dinthill 0-0 Clarendon College

Central 0-1 McGrath

Christiana 2-0 Belair

Frome 2-1 Cornwall College

William Knibb 2-2 Morant Bay

Ocho Rios 3-1 Maggotty

Port Antonio 4-0 York Castle

Titchfield 1-1 Garvey Maceo

Alphansus Davis 0-3 Manchester