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Manning Cup semis a grudge affair
December 03, 2024
When the ISSA Manning Cup semi-finals get underway today with a doubleheader at the National Stadium, it will be a case of rehashing storylines as Jamaica College (JC) take on St Catherine High at 3:30 p.m., while Hydel High face Kingston College (KC) for the second time this season, at 6 p.m.
During the second round of the competition this season, KC peppered Hydel 6-1 while JC and St Catherine played out a listless 1-1 draw.
Devon Anderson, head coach of Hydel, is confident his team can put on a better display this time around as he blamed the rainy condition for his team's heavy defeat in their last outing against the boys from North Street.
"We're going there to play our ball game," he said in preparation for the crucial encounter. "As for now, the weather is favouring a better game unlike the first one in the pouring rain that had the players sliding all over the place. Nevertheless, we were defeated but we recovered and we'll be coming back."
However, KC will not be an easy team to defeat as they look to end their season in style.
Having been eliminated at the first round of the ISSA Champions Cup, the Vassell Reynolds-led unit will be eyeing a win today as they look to claim the Manning Cup title to kick-start their school's 100th anniversary celebrations.
In the day's other fixtures, 31-time champions JC will be hoping to immediately bounce back from their defeat in the ISSA Champions Cup against Glenmuir on Saturday.
They will yet again be without goalkeeper Tawayne Lynch who had been suspended by ISSA after their Champions Cup fixture against McGrath.
Lynch will next be eligible for JC in the final, should they get past St Catherine.
Anthony Patrick, head coach of St Catherine, is, however, hoping to rain on JC's parade as he hopes to bring the third-ever Manning Cup title back to St Catherine.
Patrick stands as the only coach of a St Catherine-based school to have won the urban schoolboy football title with wins in 2001 and 2006 as head coach of Bridgeport High.
"The only Manning Cups that have come back to the parish was with Bridgeport when I was at the helm and definitely I'd like to do it for St Catherine High School," he said.
"It's a knockout game and any number can play. It's a semifinal and both teams will be going for it, definitely."
