KC end Mona’s title defence

NEW CHAMPIONS will be crowned this season in the ISSA Manning Cup as titleholders Mona High School had aspirations of a successful defence ripped to tatters at the hands of Kingston College (KC) yesterday when they were felled 2-0 at Stadium East.

The result means KC secured their passage to the semifinals while Mona will now contest the second round of the ISSA Walker Cup knockout competition.

Coming into yesterday’s fixture, Mona knew they needed a statement win against KC if they were to advance to the final four of the urban schoolboy football competition.

However, their title defence was immediately derailed as they found themselves conceding within the first 10 minutes of the contest.

A corner delivered into the box found the head of KC’s Kvist Paul who headed home thanks to a kind deflection from a Mona defender.

The defending champions would look to pull level throughout the first half but lacked their usual composure in front of goal.

KC’s Demario Dailey would stamp his impact on the game in the second half, though the striker needed two bites at the cherry to secure all three points.

Dailey found himself through on goal in the 78th minute but his curling effort was just too tame to beat Mona’s custodian. He would not miss the second time around, however, as minutes later, he fired across the face of the goal to seal the win.

This will be KC’s eighth consecutive appearance in the Manning Cup semifinals, prompting head coach Vassell Reynolds to praise his players after the match.

“It was a massive win for us and a morale booster for us, especially with the fact that we were coming off a loss a few days ago,” Reynolds explained.

“It was a crucial game and we played without two of our regular starters. The players who stepped in gave a good performance and I thought overall, as a team, we played very well. It was a good energy and a workmanlike performance and we did what we had to do.”

In the other game of the group, Jamaica College (JC) secured their passage to the final four of the competition as they thumped Tivoli Gardens High 4-0 at the Ashenheim Stadium.

The win means JC take the top spot in Group A with seven points from their three games with KC finishing second on six points.

Tivoli, with their lone win of the round against Mona, take third place with three points while the Craig Butler-led Mona unit finishes fourth with a point.

Tivoli will join Mona in the second round of the Walker Cup knockout competition.

Today, Hydel will host Campion at Prison Oval, while Excelsior play St Catherine at Stadium East to decide the other two semifinalists.

Yesterday’s results

Mona 0-2 Kingston College

Jamaica College 4-0 Tivoli

Today’s games:

Hydel vs Campion College at Prison Oval

Excelsior vs St Catherine at Stadium East

All games begin at 3:00 p.m.