JC soar - Defending champs through to second round

A well-executed 74th-minute strike by forward Ronaldo Brown yesterday sealed a fighting 3-1 win over Eltham High School, securing passage to the second round of the ISSA/FLOW Manning Cup for reigning Champions Jamaica College.

The feisty Group B fixture, which saw four yellow cards issued, was played at the Jamaica College playing field, located on Old Hope Road in Kingston.

The home team went ahead via a close-range strike from Malik Howell inside the 12th minute. The early 'dark blues' lead was cancelled out 10 minutes later when Akeem Rhooms fired Eltham back into the game.

The champions, though not playing at their clinical best, regained the lead in the 31st minute courtesy of a Donovan Dawkins tap-in.

The drenched JC surface made ball control and possession hard for both teams, but JC's pressing and hunger bore fruit when captain Oquin Robinson linked up superbly with Brown.

WINNING GOAL

The captain rolled in a superb through ball to Brown, which the player controlled, found space, and caressed home inside the 75th minute, capping off JC's return to winning ways after last Saturday's 1-1 draw with STATHS.

"It's an amazing feeling to score, coming off an injury. I am happy with my performance. I think I am 60 per cent there. I don't really have a goal target this season. I just want to score the important goal and help my team win," the match winner told The Gleaner.

JC coach Miguel Coley said he was happy with his team's effort getting control of the ball and passing it around.

"We are still tweaking the team and doing some shifting and changing to see what's best because in the second round, you have to be on point and everything has to be right," he stressed.