Classy Mona hit St Jago for six

DEFENDING ISSA Manning Cup champions Mona High produced a classy performance to whip Group 1 opponents St Jago High 6-0, as the second round of the competition kicked off at the Stadium East field yesterday.

In the opening match of the double-header, St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) and Wolmer’s Boys played to an entertaining 2-2 draw.

Mona were all over St Jago from the opening whistle and got their go-ahead goal in the 11th minute, courtesy of a magnificent strike from Denzel McKenzie. St Jago missed an opportunity to pull level in the 26th minute, as Richardo Lewis somehow managed to send his shot over the bar from point-blank range. That miss proved costly as Mona went up 2-0 four minutes later when Javier Dunn capped off a brilliant build-up play. By the 36th minute, it was 3-0, as Demarion Harris powered home his effort from inside the box.

The second half saw Mona keeping up the pressure. Dunn brought up his second of the evening in the 56th minute, as he managed to outfox goalkeeper Adriano Lawrence by sneaking his shot in at his near post. If that wasn’t enough, Carlos Brown pulled off an audacious moment of brilliance, cracking a right-footed shot from the half line, leaving Lawrence grasping at thin air. Mona’s goalkeeper Riquelme Edwards also added his name to the score sheet as he converted from the penalty spot in the 84th minute.

Craig Butler, head coach of Mona, said it was pleasing to see what was done on the training pitch being executed on game day.

“We prepared for this and it was good to see a lot of what we practised being executed by the boys. The boys are top talents and, with the coaching staff we have, it’s very difficult to beat us,” Butler said.

TOUGH GAME

Taneil McKenzie, head coach of St. Jago, suggested that playing against a quality opposition like Mona was always going to be tough.

“It was always going to be a tough game against Mona. We made some errors where we gave them too much space,” McKenzie said.

In the opening game, both teams started off proceedings eager for three points as Wolmer’s Boys’ Daniel Scarlett smacked the crossbar with a left-footed strike in just the fifth minute. Two minutes later, Wolmer’s took the lead as Daquan Duhaney’s first-time effort was calmly slotted into the back of the net. STATHS then responded in the 12th minute as Kennardo Gordon’s deflected shot left Wolmer’s custodian Yuri Dryden flat-footed. As both teams went in search of the go-ahead goal, it was Wolmer’s who went 2-1 up through Alex Wright who pounced upon sloppy goalkeeping by Jaheem Williams.

STATHS earned a share of the points in injury time when Ajetai Marshall found space in the box and converted from close range.

Phillip Williams, head coach of STATHS, hailed the ‘character’ of his team.

“We had to claw ourselves back on two occasions, which speaks to the character of the team,” Williams said.

Jerome Waite, head coach of Wolmer’s, said injuries within his team played a part in the late goal.

“We had a couple of injured players and, in the latter part of the game when we removed them, STATHS came back into the match,” Waite said.

The Manning Cup second round continues today with four matches.

orane.buchanan@gleanerjm.com