JC hold on to final U16 schoolboy semi-final spot in dramatic fashion

There was a dramatic finish to the final round of quarterfinal ISSA Mighty Malt Urban U16 schoolboy football games yesterday with Jamaica College (JC) only qualifying for the semi-final in the dying seconds of their encounter at the expense of Excelsior High and Wolmer’s Boys’.

JC booked their spot in the U16 semi-finals alongside Kingston College (KC), St George’s College (STGC), and Mona High.

Group B brought the action as KC entered yesterday’s contest having already booked their spot in the final four, with JC, Excelsior, and Wolmer’s still in contention.

Wolmers played hosts to Excelsior and fell 3-2, while JC were defeated 1-0 by KC.

Needing a win to advance, Wolmer’s saw their plans derailed when Excelsior took the lead through captain Rojawn Small, who opened the scoring in the 40th minute from the penalty spot.

Excelsior were reduced to 10 men just three minutes later when Samir Francis was shown a straight red card after he struck a Wolmer’s defender in the back of the head.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Excelsior continued to press and doubled their lead in the 54th minute when Kevin Deacon danced past his marker and rifled the ball into the top-right corner.

A defensive error from the Wolmerians cleared the way for Excelsior’s Shamari Edmondson to add his team’s third of the afternoon.

A failed attempt at an offside trap allowed for Edmondson to waltz into the box uncontested before he rounded the goalkeeper and finished into an empty net.

Excelsior’s three-goal advantage looked secure as there were only seconds left on the clock, and the boys from Mountain View Avenue began their celebrations early as news came through that KC had defeated JC 1-0 in the other group game.

If those results stood, Excelsior would have booked their spot in the semi-finals.

However, Wolmer’s roared to life in the final moments, with Rohan Sharpe and Roshane Jeffery scoring in time added to cut the deficit to one goal.

Despite the win, Excelsior fell just short of a semi-final spot. Despite finishing with three points, tied with JC and Wolmer’s, JC held the advantage with the best goal difference of the three.

In Group A, Mona were big winners, thrashing Eltham 8-2 to top the group on goals scored. STGC eliminated STATHS with a 1-0 win.

The U16 semi-finals will see a North Street derby, with KC taking on STGC while Mona will go head-to-head against JC.

It was a different story in the U14 competition as Wolmer’s easily dispatched Excelsior 3-1 to complete a perfect run to the semi-finals.

They will be joined in the final four by Campion, KC, and JC.

Campion booked their spot in the final four when they cruised by Hillel Academy 2-0 in their final group game.

KC and JC had already secured their semi-final spot before kick-off and played out a scoreless draw, while STATHS defeated Eltham 4-2 in a match of academic interest.

The U14 semi-finals will see Wolmer’s face off against JC while Campion College will face KC.

The semi-finals are set to kick off on Monday and Tuesday, March 3.

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com

U14 Results

Campion 2-0 Hillel

Wolmer’s 3-1 Excelsior

STATHS 4-2 Eltham

KC 0-0 JC

U16 Results

Eltham 2-8 Mona

STATHS 0-1 STGC

Wolmer’s 2-3 Excelsior

KC 1-0 JC