JC in Manning semi-finals

Jamaica College (JC) moved into the semi-finals of the 2021 ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup after a thrilling 5-3 win over St Andrew Technical (STATHS) at the Stadium East field yesterday

The win lifted JC to six points, three ahead of both STATHS and Mona High who blanked St Catherine High 2-0 in yesterday's second match at the venue.

While St Catherine's semi-final dreams flamed out, Mona's win sets up a final-round showdown with STATHS on Friday for the last semi-final spot from Group One. Mona have an inferior goal difference (zero) and must win to get to the last four.

In yesterday's opening game, Giovanni Mitto got JC off to the perfect start with a goal in the second minute. Danger man Omar Laing equalised with his 10th goal of the season in the 17th minute before captain Omar Reid's brace in the 25th and 41st minutes put STATHS 3-1 up.

However, JC's Dwight Merrick closed the gap to one in the third minute of first-half stoppage time with a brilliant effort. JC took control of the second half and Romain Blake restored parity in the 55th minute. Tarick Ximines put the reigning champions back in front at 4-3 in the 71st minute, and Marlon Pennycooke added their fifth seven minutes later.

Davion Ferguson, the JC coach, said his team took STATHS too lightly after taking the early lead.

"We started out like a house on fire. We underestimated this STATHS team as once we scored we fell back into a lull and played a little bit too casual. We gifted them three goals and I don't think this STATHS team is three goals better than JC," said Ferguson, adding that "at no point in the game were we worried".

STATHS head coach Phillip Williams said the slippery field conditions, caused by rain in the second half, did not help their defensive cause.

"We were very poor defensively and I think the underfoot conditions had a lot to do with how we played in the second half," Williams said. Robino Gordon's first-half brace in the fourth and 22nd minutes sealed the three points for Mona.

"We were pleased with the performance. The conditions were wet and muddy and who wanted it most showed and also the system that we played. It was very effective today," Mona's head coach Craig Butler said.

"We were much more composed. As you can see we were keeping the ball, playing the ball a lot more because we have the talent to do it."

St Catherine's problems regarding their slow start to games reared its ugly head again from the opening whistle and although they tried to force the issue in the second half, could not reduce the deficit. The best opportunity they had in the second half came when they managed to pick the pocket of Mona High goalkeeper Akeem Bernard but could not take advantage of his mistake. St Catherine were also reduced to 10 men after Ontwain Mitchell was sent off after he was shown a second yellow card. Butler says that continued focus on their game makes them a team that will be difficult to stop.

"In all honesty, I don't believe that there is any team that can cause us problems. Our problems in this competition have been caused by ourselves. We need to be more focused. We need to play our game, our system and be confident. And once we do that, I don't think that there is any team that can challenge us," Butler said.