Eltham High a rising force in Zone A

While many would expect last year's beaten finalists, Hydel High, to emerge as top dogs in Zone A of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Manning Cup, another challenger has made themselves known in the form of the Spanish Town-based Eltham High.

Eltham have been loving life so far this schoolboy football season and have branded themselves as the new dark horses of the first round, having won three consecutive games in impressive fashion.

They entered the season with high expectations of advancing past the first round and started their campaign with a blitz of goals, thrashing Clan Carthy High 5-0 as early warning signs of their season's intentions.

However, it was their second match that truly captured all the headlines.

Eltham would show off their goalscoring abilities when they dismantled Ardenne High 10-nil in front of a stunned Ardenne home crowd.

The fun would not stop there for Eltham, however, who continued their marauding run in Zone A with a 5-0 drubbing of Dunoon Park Technical High on Wednesday.

With 20 goals scored and Eltham yet to concede this season, the St Catherine institution sits atop Zone A with nine points. Hydel are second with six points, having played one game less.

The two schools will put their perfect records on the line in their next outing as Eltham will face the Hydel test on Monday.

Hydel also boast an impressive goalscoring record this campaign, beating Ardenne High 9-0 and Clan Carthy 4-0 in their first-round games so far.

They will hope to pull level on points with their early zone rivals, while Eltham are seeking redemption from last season's disappointment.

During the 2023 campaign, Eltham narrowly missed out on a second-round spot by two points. They had placed third in their zone with 19 points to finish behind leaders Haile Selassie, 28, and Jonathan Grant, 21.

- G.B.