Kingston vs Clarendon: KC battle Garvey in Olivier Shield

DaCosta Cup champions Garvey Maceo stand on the threshold of completing a magnificent schoolboy football season for the parish of Clarendon.

Only Manning Cup champions Kingston College (KC) stand in their way.

The two schools will battle each other today as the 2021-22 campaign concludes with the ISSA/Olivier Shield play-off at St Elizabeth Technical High School at 3 p.m.

The newly crowned rural kings Garvey Maceo captured their second daCosta Cup title in more than a decade in a 5-0 win over Manning’s High led by a stellar performance from Gregory Cousins who scored a hat-trick. Meanwhile, KC returned to the Corporate Area summit defeating previous holders Jamaica College 5-4 on penalties with KC goalkeeper David Martin making the crucial save in the sixth round.

Clarendon has taken all of the rural schoolboy titles on offer this year, with Clarendon College winning the ISSA Champions Cup and Edwin Allen capturing the Ben Francis KO title. A Garvey Maceo win would complete the set. Head coach Merron Gordon said after his team’s daCosta Cup triumph that the parish’s standard of excellence is not a surprise to him.

“It’s been like this for a long time. If you realise that a Clarendon team has been at least in a semi-final over many years. We have very good football communities in the parish,” Gordon said.

DOUBLE THREAT

Garvey Maceo will hope to keep the trophy back in the parish after Clarendon College lifted the trophy on the last two occasions, ending an 11-year run of dominance by the Corporate Area schools which started in 2007. Cousins, as well as Cleo Clarke, will be the threats that the KC defence will have to worry about, as they have been major headaches for rural schools this season.

For KC, they have their own reasons for bringing the title back to the capital city, hoping to end a more than three-decade wait for the title. Their last opportunity came in 2018 but they were beaten by Clarendon College. Head coach Ludlow Bernard says he is relishing the tactical challenge that Garvey Maceo represent as well as how his team will operate, playing away from Kingston.

“It’s going to be a tough one I can tell you. They have some very good goalscorers. They have a very good team coached by a very tactical and shrewd coach. It is probably going to give me the challenge that I thrive on,” Bernard said. “It’s going to be a really interesting game and with it being played away from Kingston, it is going to be even more interesting. But we are looking forward to it.”

Midfielder Christopher Pearson as well as forward Ronardo Burgher will be the main threats for the KC as they seek their eighth Olivier Shield title.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com