Kirk Ramsay emerged as the standout performer of the final, netting both goals in Dunoon Technical’s historic victory. His first-half strike and powerful long-range effort in the second sealed the school’s first-ever Manning Cup title and cemented his place as the match’s top scorer and key game-changer.

Published Sunday, November 15, 1998

Dunoon conquer Charlie for first Manning title

By Audley Boyd

Dunoon Technical settled an old score by beating Charlie Smith Comprehensive 2-0 in the Pepsi Manning Cup final at the National Stadium yesterday, to claim their first lien on the major Corporate Area schoolboy football title.

Kirk Ramsay scored both goals on either side of the clock to give the favourites victory over Charlie Smith, who had denied them the trophy in the first of their three trips to the final, in 1988. Dunoon Technical also played in the 1996 final, which they lost to Norman Manley Comprehensive.

Carl ‘Big Carl’ Smith, Dunoon’s coach, said: “In 1988 we lost to Charlie Smith on penalties. It was a very down time for me because we were leading 3-0 and all of a sudden my whole world came crashing down. But in this situation now we turned the tables and I am very happy.”
He added: “I must praise the chaps; it was hard work, dedication, more so they had the feeling, from I started coaching this set, that they were going to make it to the Manning Cup final and win.”

Jerome Waite, Charlie Smith’s coach, said: “The Charlie Smith team played creditably this afternoon. It’s just that we made our mistakes and they capitalised.”
The main things Charlie Smith did wrong cost them dearly with both concessions.
The first happened in the 14th minute when their stopper missed a ball played long into their defence, and then their sweeper twice hit attempted clearances on Ramsay. The last one spewed into the penalty area where Ramsay ran unmolested to slip past Charlie Smith’s goalkeeping captain, Cecil Sturridge, for the lead, and make a rare moment of excitement in the first half.
On the other occasion, Ramsay unleashed a powerful shot from near 25 yards, which went in then out of the hands of Sturridge, and into the goal.
That strike effectively ended a bold second-half run for survival by Charlie Smith, whose ploy of adding more personnel allowed them far more effective offensives and good shots on Dunoon’s goal.

Unlike Charlie Smith, however, whose custodian almost allowed two more goals after dropping high balls while he gave a poor performance, Dunoon’s ’keeper, Esdras Tingling, was superb and made some excellent diving saves that kept his opponents from equalising.
Tingling never had to pull off too many saves in the first half as his team had less difficulty handling what, for most times, was a two-man offence. Like the rest of their team, the Charlie Smith frontline duo were skilful but whatever yardage they won from the half-line, too much work and numbers took its toll as they fizzed around the goal area.

Dunoon, on the other hand, attacked contrastingly, with mainly long balls to the open flanks where their speedy and skilful frontline duo of Ramsay and Roen Nelson presented more problems, as they had more support from the rest of their team which came forward quickly.
Additionally, Charlie Smith were not marking as well as Dunoon, and they utilised the spaces given well for passing to teammates open on the other side of the penalty area, or to dribble defenders into scoring positions.

While counter-attacking as Charlie Smith pressed hard for the equaliser, Dunoon got several good chances that way, but they either dribbled too much or made bad passing selections and lost the time they were allowed through superior numbers.

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