YEAR IN REVIEW
Whisper, Mona answer questions, Clarendon College, JC reign supreme
Published:Sunday | January 1, 2023 | 1:30 AM
THE 2022 ISSA Manning and daCosta Cup season was enthralling.
Prior to the start of the season many questions were raised, like how good is Kingston College’s Dujuan ‘Whisper’ Richards?
Will St Catherine make it three straight Walker Cup victories?
Can Lenworth ‘Teacher’ Hyde return the daCosta Cup to Clarendon College?
All were eventually answered one by one.
Whisper proved to be worth his weight in gold, scoring 25 goals, and leaving his head coach, Raymond Watson, to say he was “the best schoolboy player I’ve ever seen”.
Despite ending the season trophyless, Richards stamped his class on many a game, becoming a household name.
The year also saw the resurgence of Tivoli High School. Led by former standout, Christopher Nicholas, Tivoli lifted their first schoolboy title since 2005 defeating Haile Selassie 6-5 in the finals on penalties. The win also marked a landmark achievement for Nicholas, who had won the title back in 1996 as a player.
The teary-eyed Nicholas while speaking with Gleaner Sports said: “It’s a joy, words can’t explain as this just brings back the joy within these youngsters and the community as this is what Tivoli is all about. This is what we want to be recognised as, as champions because champions and legends come from Tivoli.”
Known as a coach who elicits beautiful football from his youngsters, many eyes were glued to see how Lenworth Hyde would get his team back in the mix for a daCosta Cup title following the teams subpar performance in 2021.
Outside of succumbing to a devastating performance from Richards in the Champions Cup, all seemed well with Clarendon College until a few days before the daCosta final. The team’s assistant manager, Neville ‘Manny’ Peart, was killed in a vehicular accident. Despite the tragedy, the boys from Chapelton mustered up the strength to win 3-0 and lift their 10th daCosta Cup title, going on to round off their season with an Olivier Shield triumph over Jamaica College (JC).
Back in the Corporate Area, another giant of schoolboy football, Neville Bell, watched as his St George’s College ended their 2022 season trophyless. They failed to progress beyond the semifinal of the Walker Cup, losing 1-0 to eventual champions Tivoli and suffered a quarterfinal exit in the Manning Cup, finishing third in their four-team group behind KC and Mona.
Speaking of Mona, the Craig Butler-coached outfit should have perhaps ended their season with some silverware. In the early stages of the season, Mona looked irresistible. But a 2-1 semifinal defeat to JC in the Manning Cup and a 3-1 defeat to Clarendon College in their first-ever Champions Cup,proved they were very beatable. Butler has since said he would quit coaching at the schoolboy level.