AFTER A rocky start, St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) are through to the second round of the ISSA/WATA daCosta Cup after a nail-biting 2-1 win over Munro College during their Zone E match at STETHS Sports Complex in St Elizabeth yesterday.

The game, a part of a doubleheader, came after Black River High beat Little London 5-0.

STETHS ended Zone B second with 18 points.

The result sends STETHS into Group 3 in the round of 32 with Manning’s, William Knibb, and Manchester High.

Munro are in group 4 with Maldon, Brown’s Town, and 3rd place of Zone G.

STETHS took a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute, courtesy of Deandre Barnett from a free kick. Kaieem Lewis doubled the lead in the 53rd before Munro’s Roshane Wint gave his team some hope in the 77th from the penalty spot to make things interesting.

Omar ‘Rambo’ Wedderburn, coach of STETHS, said the players really performed in the clash.

“We really have confidence in these players. The motto for this team is ‘Play, Perform and Win’, and they really displayed that today. We are happy as you see the entire fanbase and staff are happy for this victory. Sometimes the road can start rocky but end smooth, “ Wedderburn said.

“Our players are competitive, and this group really moulded us to go and perform. We don’t expect the second round to be easy, so we are up to the task,” he added.

In the meantime, Kemar Ricketts, coach of Munro College, said it was just another game.

“We knew we had topped the zone already. We knew they would come hard. You can see that they wanted the game more, and they pushed and won the game, Ricketts said.

He continued, “If you are to lose any game, we have to lose one with no bearing, and what we do going forward is to be more consistent. With the second round coming up, we have to get ready for our next opponents. We will take it one game at a time. That is our approach.”