Dream start for young Manning’s forward

Western Bureau

Kajaye Williams returned from surgery to a broken jaw to score in Manning’s School’s 5-1 win over Grange Hill School in their opening Zone D daCosta Cup match at the Llandilo Sports Complex on Saturday.

Williams, 14, who came on as a second-half substitute, scored the fourth goal with his first touch. He required surgery four weeks ago after he sustained injuries to his face in an altercation during a preseason match.

Williams was happy to shrug off his pregame jitters with a goal and will look to score many more this season.

“It’s a great feeling knowing that I am coming out of an injury and playing in my first daCosta Cup game and scoring. I was a bit scared at first, and my coach told me to stay out of certain challenges,” Williams said.

He said he had not set a target for the season, but wanted to scored as many goals as possible.

“I think scoring today will give me more confidence. Going forward I will not be scared like I was today. As the season goes on, I think I will get even more confident and just look to score more goals, “ he added.

The first half ended 0-0 although both teams got numerous opportunities to score. Manning’s missed an easy chance three minutes into the game, then Grange Hill missed a glorious opportunity in the 18th minute.

The game came alive in the second half with Jhamaleek Porter and Danton Williams giving Manning’s a two-goal lead in the 48th and 49th minutes, respectively.

ICING ON THE CAKE

Grange Hill pulled one back in the 54th minute through Tyrese Crooks. Rushawn Graham restored the two-goal cushion for Manning’s 16 minutes later. Substitute Williams and Shamar Hamilton put the icing on the cake for last year’s runners-up in the 82nd and 90th minutes, respectively.

Everton Tomlinson praised Williams for the character he showed at such a young age.

“My delightful moment was when I brought on young Kajaye Williams, whose first touch resulted in a goal. It is very encouraging to know that after coming out of a surgery, where people thought he would be scared to play, he showed great attitude and spirit. He is a real goalscorer and even at the age of 14, will make a difference in this team. It’s really pleasing to me,” Tomlinson said.

“Good start to the season. I really appreciate the way we ended the game, after starting with a bit of anxiety and missing two chances to take the lead early in the first half,” he added.

Grange Hill’s coach, Copeland Bailey, said that despite being handicapped by registration issues, he was encouraged by the first-half performance of his boys on their return to the competition after four years.

“We tried to hold Manning’s as long as possible, but we did not have the depth in the squad as we only had 14 players. I hope that by the next game we will have more players available to us,” said Bailey.

“I was pleased with our play in some areas, and maybe if we had scored that early opportunity we would have seen a different game, as we could play a bit more compact. The school is on rebuilding path with these young players,” he added.