Dawkins’ late strikes secure three points for Calabar

In a game perhaps appropriately described by spectators as ‘football tennis’, Calabar High blanked Camperdown High 2-0 through late heroics from substitute Daniell Dawkins at the Alpha Institute field yesterday in the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Manning Cup.

Neither team was able to truly settle into the game which proved to be a tough midfield battle from start to finish.

Calabar’s head coach Andrew Price said the uneven playing surface caused by rain throughout the week was to blame for his team’s uncharacteristic frantic and hurried performance.

“We didn’t play our best game today,” he said. “The surface didn’t enable us to do so and the rain over the last couple of days made the field very heavy under-foot.

“But at the end I think our fitness paid off in the last 10 minutes because we got a lot stronger than the Camperdown team and we were able to get those two goals.”

The two teams played out end-to-end action throughout the match but it was Dawkins who made the difference at the end.

Coming on to the pitch with a little over 10 minutes to play, Dawkins scored the opener in the fourth minute of injury time.

A pass over the top lured Camperdown goalkeeper Ricardo Graham off his line and Dawkins was faster to the ball and rounded the goalkeeper and finished into an empty net.

He would return shortly after for his brace when he reacted quickest to slot home a spilt ball from the gloves of Graham who struggled with what should have been an easy save.

Price applauded Dawkins’ performance as he said it showed his team’s depth and impact off the bench.

“It really shows the team’s character and that we have a squad that is deep. We have players that want to come off the bench and contribute. Today, Dawkins came off the bench in the last few minutes and he got two goals for us and kudos to him. That’s the type of effort we want from the players when they come off the bench,” he explained.

Camperdown’s technical director Leebert Halliman said the result came from a game of attrition where Calabar’s experience and strength made all the difference.

“I think my boys played well. I think Calabar’s players are much more experienced and stronger, so the last five minutes of the game made the difference,” Halliman said.

“We were right along with them for the 90 minutes. A lot of players went down in the last 15 minutes, so I think that crippled us. But it’s the middle of the season, so we have to just work and hopefully we can improve.”

Calabar remain second in Zone D with 10 points, trailing leaders St Andrew Technical High (STATHS) who sit atop the zone with 13 points.

Camperdown have fallen to fifth in the group with four points with Haile Selassie climbing to fourth with six points.

Yesterday’s results

Haile Selassie 2-1 Vauxhall

Kingston Technical 1-6 STATHS

St Jago 3-1 Denham Town

Bridgeport 3-1 Pembroke Hall