Norman Manley happy to advance with draw

NORMAN MANLEY High secured their spot in the second round of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup competition yesterday when they played to a 1-1 draw with hosts Jonathan Grant High.

Norman Manley’s coach, Shane Gage, was elated to get the point from the draw, which moves them to 17. They will progress to the next stage of the competition as one of the best third-place teams as they ended behind Group D winners St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) with 24 points, the same as Jonathan Grant, who have an inferior goal difference.

“We are grateful for the point, coming from a tough game and I think it was one of our better performances. Sometimes things happen and sometimes players don’t execute exactly, but kudos to the boys as they came with heart and they fought today.

“We are comfortable with 17 points, which will allow us to progress. We wanted full points but it is what it is and we are grateful nonetheless,” Gage said.

He admitted, however, that his charges drifted from the game plan somewhat, as after Chevaughn Rennie opened the scoring for them in the seventh minute, they allowed Jonathan Grant to control the action for the majority of the remainder of the match.

Rennie executed a well-taken shot from the edge of the penalty area, as he volleyed the ball over a packed area and out of the reach of goalkeeper Ammiel Hibbert.

Jonathan Grant failed to make their territorial advantage count in any significant way but still managed to equalise in the 41st minute through Victor Steele, who shot past goalkeeper Shawn Malcolm from the middle of the box.

According to Jonathan Grant’s coach Kemeel Wolfe, the match proved to be keenly contested as they had expected.

“It was a game that we wanted to win. We knew Norman Manley would have come out fighting in this game, given that they had an outside chance of making it to the second round and getting one of the best third places,” Wolfe said.