Manchester avoid dangerous CC semifinal

Western Bureau:

MANCHESTER HIGH School continued the rich vein of form they have been displaying since the beginning of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) daCosta Cup football competition’s second round with a 2-1 win over The Manning’s School in their quarterfinal match at the STETHS Sports Complex in Santa Cruz yesterday.

Both teams had already qualified for the semifinals and the first round of the ISSA Champions Cup which starts on Saturday.

Manchester were gifted an early lead in the 15th minute from an Akieme Gordon own goal. The boys in brown and gold could have extended that lead within the following 20 minutes had it not been for three brilliant saves from Manning’s goalkeeper Ashawni Campbell.

Manning’s would go into the break on level pegging against the run of play when Kajaye Williams' mishit with the outside of his boot beat the Manchester goalkeeper, dipping wickedly into the top left corner in the 39th.

Manchester made two quick changes in the second half but it was not until the 68th minute before they retook the lead with Yarek Carnegie capitalising on their opponents' persistent high line. Faced with a one-on-one situation, Carnegie pushed the ball around the onrushing keeper before slotting the ball into an empty net.

Manchester's coach Johnoy Chambers is excited about taking the momentum from this game into the semifinals.

"The win was very important for us. We did not want to just qualify but also to top the group and go into the semifinal with a lot of momentum. Three quarterfinal wins on the bounce and the boys deserve it," Chambers said.

"We had a tough start but we learned a lot from the first round which, I think, was key for us. It is good to see us improving game by game which comes from our preparation. I have to commend the entire management team," he added.

Everton Tomlinson, coach of Manning’s, said he was pleased with the commitment of some of the young players he gave valuable experience showed.

"We had to take some risk and used the opportunity to expose our youngsters to this level. They were competitive, showed that they can play and with a bit more confidence they could have done better. I appreciate the attitude and effort they display today," Tomlinson said.

"I think if we were to lose, this is a perfect time. Maybe if we had taken this approach last year, things could have been different."

The result means Manchester will play Central High School in the semifinals.

Central made the semifinals after a 2-0 win over Edwin Allen yesterday and Dinthill Technical’s heavy 4-0 defeat to Clarendon College.

Three of the goals came from penalties and Dinthill coach, Oneil Thomas, said it was tough to pull his team back into the game after that.

"It was hard to come back from that. I don't know what was in the referee's head. I saw one penalty, not three. The penalties contributed to the demise of my team because it shut us down mentally," said Thomas.

This was the first time Dinthill were failing to make a semifinal in six years.

Manning’s will face, favourites at this stage, Clarendon College.

Yesterday’s Results

Manchester 2 - 1 Manning's

Frome 0 - 0 William Knibb

Dinthill 0 - 4 Clarendon College

Edwin Allen 0 - 2 Central