Nervous Campion come from behind to deny frustrated Charlie

THE OCCASION of a first knockout round tie in 30 years may have got to Campion College in the beginning, but they eventually found their feet.

On the other side of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup tie at the Ashenheim Stadium yesterday was a frustrated Charlie Smith, who failed to take advantage of the Campion nerves.

The teams will have it all to play for in two days’ time after yesterday’s 1-1 draw.

Raequan Stoney finished from close range to open the scoring in the 36th minute with momentum swinging to the three-time champions, who had opportunities to double their lead soon after. But Campion got the equaliser four minutes into the second half.

Throughout the game, Charlie Smith caused Campion problems but assistant coach Byron Earl was left disappointed with the loss of composure coming from his team.

“As the game progressed, we started playing undisciplined. We played out of shape. We moved individually, so it caused us to give up an easy goal,” Earl told The Gleaner.

That goal came from a short corner where a Campion player drove a shot at goal from the right side and Myers got the final touch off the rebounded shot, restoring parity.

But it wasn’t just the way that Charlie Smith lost their shape, which was frustrating for head coach Eugene Williams.

According to the coach, there were officiating decisions, which changed the flow of the game.

Despite that, Williams believes his team has to remain calm if they want to book their fourth straight trip to the quarterfinals.

“At the end of the day, the referees run the games. So we have to stay disciplined. We have to stay focused. We know what is at hand. If we want to play Walker Cup or the Manning Cup quarterfinals, we have to stay focused and stay disciplined,” Earl said.

Campion College assistant coach Eric Rademakers, while admitting that nerves got to the team initially, was pleased with the way they responded.

“We never really got into our game too much. The half-time was good because they got that first wind out of the way. We felt the pressure in the first half but in the second half, we were the stronger team. And we are a little bit disappointed that we didn’t come away with the win,” Rademakers said.

With the tie delicately poised, Rademakers was adamant that his team was not satisfied with progressing to the second round but were setting new targets to extend their stay in the competition.

The second leg takes place at the Stadium East playing field at 1:00 p.m.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm

Yesterday’s results

Campion College 1 Charlie Smith 1

Mona 2 Tivoli 0

St George’s College 4 Jonathan Grant 1

Haile Selassie 1 Excelsior 0

Today’s games

Jose Marti vs Kingston College @ Royal Lakes @ 3:00 p.m.

Norman Manley vs Jamaica College @ Calabar High @ 3:00 p.m.

St Jago High vs St Andrew Technica High @ Prison Oval @ 1:00 p.m.

Wolmer’s Boys vs St Catherine High @ Prison Oval @ 3:00 p.m.