Everything that could have gone wrong in yesterday’s ISSA/Digicel Walker Cup quarterfinal between Haile Selassie High and St Catherine High at the Spanish Town Prison Oval did.

It started with kickoff being delayed for over an hour because of flooded sections of the field as a result of heavy early afternoon showers. It ended with play suspended because of bad light after 66 minutes, with Haile Selassie leading 2-0. Joshua Dewar fired Haile Selassie into the lead in first-half stoppage time and Jahwan Payne in the 51st minute with a long-range blast

Even with the sloppy conditions, St Catherine had multiple chances to take the lead in the first half, and they thought they did in the opening 10 minutes when they thought the ball was over the line, but the referee ruled that the whole ball did not cross the line.

However, the circumstances that both teams had to play under drew the ire of both teams. Haile Selassie assistant coach Ira Hemmings and St Catherine assistant coach Maleek Miller were both adamant that given the circumstances, the game should not have gone ahead in the first place.

“We started the game on a wet pitch. Both teams were quarrelling about the pitch and how we are going to start the game. And unfortunately, the referee decided that the game was going to be played. We had to get ready to play the game,” Hemmings said.

“The match should not have started. When we arrived at the venue, the field was filled with water, and the match should not have been played on the pitch,” Miller added.

Although the hour delay helped to improve conditions, when the game started there was still a section of the pitch with water that caused problems for both teams during the game. In the second half, the flooded section of the pitch improved. The fading light complicated matters, however, and play was suspended, with the field in near darkness.

After a meeting with the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA), it was decided that play would resume this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. at the same venue, with 24 minutes left to play. St Catherine head coach Anthony Patrick said that despite the challenges surrounding playing the fixture, he lamented the chances that his team wasted in the first half, something that he fears will end their chances of a third consecutive Walker Cup title

“We made a lot of mistakes in front of goal. We had a lot of chances, and it may come back to haunt us,” Patrick said.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com [3]

Yesterday’s results

Wolmer’s 1 Campion 0

Tivoli 2 Charlie Smith 0

St George’s College 2 Excelsior 1

Haile Selassie 2 St Catherine 0*

*Play to resume this afternoon at 3:30 p.m at 66th minute