Must-win! - Haile Selassie treating Excelsior clash like cup final

Haile Selassie High School go into their Group E ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup match this afternoon at home against second-placed Excelsior High, just two points off the pace.

Since the start of the season, St Catherine High and Excelsior, both on 18 points, have grabbed all the attention from this group, but the Payne Avenue school has gradually kept pace with the leaders, and a win for the Jermaine Miller-coached team against Excelsior would ensure that they go into the final game on Saturday in one of the top two spots.

Miller is anticipating a very tough encounter but says his team will be playing the game like a final to get the required result.

"It's going to be tough, a very hard game. Excelsior is a quality team. Last time we lost 3-1 [to them], but the scoreline didn't really suggest how the game went.

"They got three shots on target, and all three went in. So we know we can restrict them. It's just a matter of how quickly we can get on the scoresheet and how we can keep them off it," he said.

"This is going to be a final for us, and we expect them to give it their all. We have enough quality to be in the second round, so we will be giving our best because we don't think a draw is good enough, and we want to be in the second round, so we will be fighting to achieve this one," he reasoned.

He also believes that at home, they also stand a greater chance of victory. "We think we play much better at home. We have only lost to St Catherine at home, but we know where our weaknesses are, and we believe we have the quality to get pass this team," he continued.

Miller will look to Roberto Freeman, Rojay Roberts and Chase Knight for victory. "It's going to be a rough game for them (Excelsior) because we won't allow them to play. They like to play, so we will prevent them from playing and try to play our game when in possession," he added.

Today's ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup Games:

- St Catherine v Penwood

- St Mary's College v Oberlin

- Papine v Tarrant

- STATHS v STGC

- Cedar Grove v Cumberland

- Calabar v Clan Carthy

- Ardenne v Kingston College

- Mona v Dunoon

- St Jago v Bridgeport

- Greater Portmore v Innswood

- Denham Town v Tivoli

- Hydel v Campion

- Jamaica College v Kingston Tech

- Vauxhall v Kingston High