It was a complete sweep for the urban area teams at the Jamaica College (JC) Ashenheim Stadium on Saturday as the Manning Cup squads took home both crowns in the ISSA Schoolboy Football All-Stars exhibition games.
In the evening’s main event, the All-Manning Cup selection got the better of their rural All-daCosta counterparts 4-2 in a six-goal thriller.
All-Manning coach Devon Anderson was pleased with the win as he stated he was confident his players would get the result.
“Most of these kids, I got to know them through the Manning Cup, so it made my job much easier to get them together,” he explained.
“Once I got them together, and after the first day, the chemistry was there and everything was on point. Once we turned up, I knew it would be a foregone conclusion with their level of chemistry and their response to all the different formations. They went out there and did what they were supposed to do,” Anderson said.
The urban area squad team took the lead when Tivoli High striker Ryan-Oneil Francis stamped his name on the scoresheet in the 39th minute.
Francis finished in the bottom right corner of the net, having found himself in acres of space inside the penalty box after a quick buildup play.
They would double their lead just two minutes later, this time through St Catherine High’s Dwight Gentles.
Gentles capitalised on a rare mistake from the daCosta Cup backline and unleashed a rocket of a hit that powered past goalkeeper Garfield Tomlinson.
The All-daCosta team responded in the second half as Stevaughn Spence of Frome Technical announced his presence in the 56th minute with a close-range volley that bulged the back of the net.
JC’s Nashordo Gibbs restored the All-Manning team’s two-goal lead in the 73rd minute with a delightful chip that left Tomlinson stranded in no-man’s land.
JC’s captain and schoolboy standout Dyllan John completed the rout as he pounced on a poor clearance from the goalkeeper to finish into an empty net.
The daCosta Cup Golden Boot winner Orane Watson would get a consolation effort at the game’s death with a glancing header from a corner.
In the earlier match of the afternoon, the Manning Cup Scholastic team needed penalties to decide the winners as they edged the daCosta Cup Scholastic team 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the end of regulation time.
Djaz Less of Campion College opened the scoring for the Manning Cup Scholastic team in the ninth minute of play when he snuck in at the near post to head home a corner delivery from Zabir Taylor.
Their lead would not last long however, as just 11 minutes later, Shemmar Stewart of St Elizabeth Technical returned parity for the daCosta Cup Scholastic team as he rushed into the box to strike gold with a well-placed header.
The scoreline would stay the same by the referee’s final whistle, leading the game into the dreaded penalty shoot-outs.
From the spot, it was the Manning Cup Scholastic team that held their nerves, scoring all five penalties to claim the win.
Both games were closely watched by scouts and coaches from overseas as a part of the Caribbean Premier Showcase initiative in collaboration with ISSA.