Too little, too late

LIKE THE gloomy conditions that lingered over the Wembley Centre of Excellence on Saturday, so were the faces of the fans and players from the Garvey Maceo team, as the defending champions had to come to terms with the fact that they would be exiting this year’s ISSA/daCosta Cup prematurely.

The scenario means that a new champion will be crowned in this year’s competition, as Garvey Maceo, who needed to beat Manchester High by two clear goals to advance, could only manage to come away with a 1-1 draw.

That point meant that Garvey Maceo finished Group One with only two points from three games with Manchester High and Central High taking the two automatic spots with five points each and a berth in the quarterfinals.

With head coach Merron Gordon away with the Reggae Boyz on international duties, assistant coach Deon Mullings had to call the shots which, in the end, did not fire on the day when it mattered most.

“It is a sad moment because we know we have the capabilities to do the double and we really had it high on our agenda to do well,” said Mullings.

Garvey Maceo had only themselves to blame for the lacklustre showing, as a missed penalty and balls hitting the crossbar led to their undoing.

“I know there is going to be a lot of broken hearts out there and I would be lying if I said that the absence of coach Gordon didn’t affect the boys because there are always good vibes when there are more voices on the bench. We had our chances but we just didn’t take them,” said Mullings.

MISSED CHANCES

Those missed chances which Mullings spoke of came in the first half when Garvey Maceo were awarded a penalty in the 31st minute. The spot was muffed by Orlando Lawrence.

Lawrence was again in the action in the 41st minute, when his ferocious right footer from some 25 yards rattled the crossbar with Shamar Commock a mere spectator in the Manchester goal.

Those missed chances would come back to haunt Garvey Maceo, as six minutes from time, Yarek Carnegie was brought down inside the area, and he stepped up to convert to give Manchester a one-goal lead.

With time ticking away, Garvey Maceo would get a lifeline when substitute Jelani Williams scored in time added on for stoppages, but it was too little, too late for the Cubans.