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Tense rematches in Walker Cup
November 20, 2024
Schoolboy football fans will be treated to a tense storyline today as the ISSA Walker Cup knockout competition returns to action for its second round with rematches between Excelsior High and Eltham High, as well as Mona High and St Jago High, in a doubleheader at Stadium East.
Excelsior will face off against Eltham at 2 p.m. before headliners Mona take on St Jago at 4:15 p.m. for a spot in the Walker Cup semifinals.
Both games will mimic fixtures during the ISSA Manning Cup second round where Excelsior clipped Eltham 3-2 in a close contest, while Mona had blown St Jago completely out of the water in a 6-0 drubbing.
Excelsior are hoping to end the school's 16-year drought with a hold on the Walker Cup title this season.
They will be led by their main striker Kimarly Scott, who scored a brace in their 3-3 draw against St Catherine High in their last outing.
For Eltham, the Gregory Allen-led outfit are looking to add a second Walker Cup title to their school's repertoire, with their last trophy coming in 2006 when they clipped Jamaica College (JC) 1-0 in the final.
The 2006 title was an impressive piece of history for Eltham, who had then been only competing in their second-ever schoolboy football season.
HIGHLY ANTICIPATED CLASH
In the second game, last season's Manning Cup champions Mona will face off against St Jago in a highly anticipated clash.
Mona will look to respond after crashing out in the Manning Cup quarterfinal round, where they were eliminated after consecutive defeats to Tivoli Gardens High and Kingston College (KC).
The Walker Cup stands as their last gasp of ending the season with a title, and reward head coach Craig Butler, who led them to a historic first Manning Cup title last year, and announced he will be stepping down from his role at the end of the season.
Butler, speaking after their elimination from the Manning Cup, said he will be replaced by his assistant coaches Kyle Butler and Ricardo Martin.
"This is where my schoolboy football journey ends, I will now retire from schoolboy football and allow my son and Ricardo to continue the dynasty," he announced in a post-match interview.
Mona will enter the fixture high on confidence after their heavy victory over St Jago. However, the Spanish Town-based school will be confident they can pull off a surprise against the prematch favourites.
St Jago enter the game buoyed by their 3-2 win against Calabar High with their head coach, Taniel McKenzie, talking about his confidence in his players' ability to fight until the end.
