Irwin clip the wings of high-flying Green Pond

Western Bureau:

A HIGH-FLYING Green Pond High School, after last weekend’s fixtures, had their wings clipped and brought back to earth by a 2-0 defeat to Irwin High in their Zone A Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) daCosta Cup football match at the Irwin playing field yesterday.

Two early goals were enough to decide the game for the hosts.

Just 28 seconds into the game, Kenoy Morant gave Irwin the lead from a tap-in after the ball rebounded from a goalkeeper save.

Five minutes later the hosts’ talisman Leo Campbell netted their second goal. The game settled into a more even contest as the first half progressed.

Green Pond got a better hold of the game early in the second half but the hosts managed to keep them at bay. The most exciting moments for the visitors came when they introduced 12-year-old Diara Robinson, who despite his small stature had some brilliant touches that excited the spectators.

Coach of Irwin High, Norman Foster, said his side was looking to remain consistent in their quest to advance from the zone.

“The boys knew exactly what we were up against with Green Pond coming off a win over Cornwall College. They were motivated ... We started well with the two goals which brought us to the end, so it was a good performance from our team,” Foster said.

“Getting back-to-back wins so early is good. Irwin has never gotten such a start. We just have to keep our focus and hope to continue on the journey. We saw where last season we didn’t start well and to the end, we got some wins but didn’t get through (the zone). We are building well getting out of the group is the primary aim,” he added.

Gregory Daley said his team was handicapped by two early defensive errors.

“The result is tough. We started very slowly and conceded from two early defensive errors, but it’s football. The positive is that we played through the game without conceding another goal. We also created enough chances to come back into the game but didn’t capitalise,” said Daley, who dismissed the notion of still being in a celebratory mood from Saturday’s win over Cornwall College.

“We were past that. The celebrations were over quite early. We were ready. Coming back from those early errors would always be difficult and had nothing to do with that game. This Irwin team was touted as the best in the zone despite the usual buzz around Cornwall College,” he added.

Elsewhere in Zone A, Cornwall College bounced back from Saturday’s defeat with a 8-0 win at home over Anchovy High. Over at Jarrett Park, St James High and Maldon played out a 1-1 draw.