Garvey Maceo march into Ben Francis Cup semis

The presence of head coach Merron Gordon on the Garvey Maceo High bench reignited the team, and they carved out a workmanlike 3-1 win over Cornwall College in their ISSA/Digicel Ben Francis KO quarterfinal encounter at Garvey Maceo yesterday.

Gordon’s absence in the past few weeks due to national duties saw Garvey Maceo missing out on qualifying for the daCosta Cup semi-finals, however, the Clarendon-based school looked a different proposition with Gordon on the sidelines as they ran rings around a Cornwall side that was shell-shocked from the opening whistle.

Straight from the kick-off, Garvey Maceo needed just seconds to open the scoring as talisman Cleo Clarke received a long pass from defender Derwayne Dyer, and the prolific forward neatly took the pass in his stride and turned and fired past a hapless Samuel Reynolds in the Cornwall goal.

Before they knew what had hit them, Cornwall were 2-0 down four minutes later as Clarke demonstrated his skill and composure in front of goal when he turned his defender inside the area to slot home for his quick-fire double.

The muddy surface from persistent showers didn’t help the team’s cause either as long balls were the order of the day on the saturated field.

The surface never seemed to deter the Garvey Maceo team as they took the opportunity to go 3-0 up just before the half as Nevaughn Myrie converted a penalty in the 42nd minute after Orlando Lawrence was brought down inside the area.

A stern halftime talk from Cornwall coach Dr Dean Weatherly seemed to hit home for the St James-based school, who pressed Garvey Maceo in the second half. That pressure would bear fruit in the 60th minute when Deshawn Evans pounced on a defensive mix-up in the Garvey Maceo penalty area.

That would be the only respite for Cornwall as the ‘Cubans’ would hold on to seal their place in the semi-final of the Ben Francis Cup.

Winning coach Gordon said it was tough to motivate the boys following their daCosta Cup exit, but they got the job done.

“We went on a goal-scoring drought, but the guys found their form today with three first-half goals. It was a spirited performance from the boys despite the conditions and the quality opposition.”

Weatherly lamented what was always going to be a tough away assignment against the very good Garvey Maceo team.

“It is difficult to come into someone’s backyard and be two goals down before you even know it. We gave a spirited effort in the second half, but the surface didn’t allow us to play how we wanted, and we just have to learn from this and come again next year.”