‘We saw what we were looking for’

The All-Manning Cup and their daCosta Cup counterparts split honours in a two-game play-off at the St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) Sports Complex yesterday.

In the opening match, the All-daCosta Scholastic team edged their rivals 5-3 on penalties after a hard-fought 1-1 draw in regulation time. The second encounter mirrored the first, as the All-Manning Cup team secured a 7-6 penalty shootout victory following another 1-1 stalemate.

Excelsior High School’s Manning Cup coach and coach of the All-Manning Selection, Keon Broderick, expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance.

“Given the limited preparation time, we knew the chemistry wouldn’t be what you’d expect from a regular team. Still, the boys showed great football ability,” Broderick said.

The All-Manning Cup side struck first through St Catherine High’s Dwight Gentles in the opening third of the match, which was divided into three 35-minute segments. The All-daCosta team responded in the second segment, played in heavy rain, when Kemps Hill High’s Shemar Daley found the equaliser. With regulation ending 1-1, the game went to penalties. Both teams were flawless through five rounds, forcing sudden death, where Excelsior’s goalkeeper Jamari Gordon emerged as the hero with two crucial saves to seal the 7-6 win.

Despite the defeat, All-daCosta assistant coach Kiegan Mitchell was upbeat about his team’s effort.

“All-Manning didn’t make any changes in the first 35 minutes, while we made five, and that probably led to the early goal. But this isn’t about winning – it’s about giving the students a chance to showcase their talent to scouts,” Mitchell explained.

The first game, played to attract US college scouts, ended 1-1 before the All-daCosta Scholastic team triumphed 5-3 on penalties.

Jamaica College’s Keshaun Lee-Chin opened the scoring in the 18th minute for the All-Manning scholars, but STETHS’s Justin McPherson quickly levelled for All-daCosta two minutes later. Like the second match, it was contested in three segments and settled from the spot.

Jack Smith, assistant coach at the University of the Cumberlands, praised the level of talent on display.

“The quality was very high – lots of pace, athleticism, and power, which you expect from Jamaica. We definitely saw what we were looking for,” Smith said, adding that Kemps Hill’s Shemar Daley is a player they hope to recruit.