Goalkeeper Luke Rose making a save during last Saturday's Manning Cup final at the National Stadium.

TIVOLI GARDENSComprehensive Manning Cup officilas have come under attack from medical personel who attended to injured goalkeeper Luke Rose during and after last Saturday's Manning Cup final.

According to two doctors who examined Rose during the game the player who had a serious injury was allowed to continue in the match although his pain was obvious.

Rose who sustained a broken rib in the thrilling final which saw Tivoli beating Jamaica College 3-2, kept throughout the 90 minutes, despite collapsing at least twice on the field. After the game the injured player had to be attended to urgently by Dr. Derrick McDowell, the JC team doctor and then rushed by ambulance to the University Hospital. He remains in hospital in stable condition.

Dr. Herb Elliott who represented the Inter-Secondary Schools' Sports Association (ISSA) at the final, in an interview with the Gleaner, gave his account of what happened.

"During the second half, Tivoli's goalkeeper went down and needed some attention. A member of the Tivoli coaching staff went out to assist him. When Dr. McDowell saw the difficulty he went out there to assist and found out that he had a fractured rib and was in pain," Dr. Elliott said.

"At the time, an assistant coach was on the field and our advice to him was to take the player out and make a substitution but that did not happen....apparently the goalkeeper wanted to continue and they allowed him to."

"McDowell then went to the Tivoli coach and spoke to him but the goalkeeper continued. When I saw what was happening, I took it upon myself, went to the bench and explained the situation. The reserve goalkeeper came off the bench but they never made the change. The goalkeeper actually collapsed two to three times during the game but the substitution was not made.

"At the end of the game, he again collapsed," Dr. Elliott added.

"With the broken rib, his lungs were punctured. As an emergency, he was given an injection in his chest, given some oxygen and taken by ambulance to hospital. We both went to the hospital and there was an emergency team which looked after him until a surgeon came and inserted a chest tube," Dr. Elliott further said.

Dr. Elliott said it was not his view that Tivoli wanted to win the final at all cost

"The youngster wanted to continue but I think when you have two competent physicans giving you the same advice you should take heed," Dr. Elliott added.

"In the future, I think the people who are in charge such as the coaches and managers should take decisions. Youngsters are not in a position to do so," Elliott said.

Dave Clarke, coach of Tivoli, said he was not aware of the seriousness of Rose's injury until after the game.

"I am not a medical doctor," said Clarke.

"They (Dr. McDowell and Herb Elliott) told me that Rose had a suspected broken rib. Dr. McDowell told me that if it was his player he would have taken him off the field. I spoke to Rose and asked him how he felt and he said he was alright.

"I did not know that this would affect his lungs. I only learnt about that after the game. If I had known, I would have taken him off although he did not want to be replaced. I have taken off players for less than that. I don't want a player to die on the field of play for us to win the Manning Cup," the Clarke said.

However one of the doctors who examined Rose said the Tivoli bench was made aware of the seriousness of the goalkeeper's injury on at least two occasions during the game.

According to him, Rose could have died in about six minutes if he was not treated on the spot. He also said Rose was fortunate that a needle was found in the nick of time to cut a hole in his chest which caused him breathe again before he was taken to hospital.

He further said that he was a bit upset that the coach of Tivoli who he considers a mature individual did not make a rational decision at the time but was happy that the life of the player was saved.

Principal of the Tivoli Comprehensive High School, Wesna Noland declined to comment on the incident yesterday.

"I will not discuss that matter. We have a board meeting tomorrow and that is on the agenda," she said.