JC, STATHS through to Manning Cup semis

WITH LITTLE time for recovery, Jamaica College (JC) wanted to avoid the grind that would come if a final game to decide their place in the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup semifinals had to be undertaken.

Job done, the ‘Dark Blues’ guaranteed their place in the last four with a 2-0 win over Haile Selassie High School in their quarterfinal game yesterday at Stadium East.

Kevaughn Wilson opened the scoring in the 28th minute, his eighth of the season, and Jamarly Bennett added another in the 62nd as they comfortably saw off the opposition.

JC opened with a 4-1 win over Wolmer’s Boys’ School on Saturday and with concerns about their fitness to make a return to the final, head coach Davion Ferguson wanted an efficient approach to victory with as little wear and tear as possible.

“We wanted to use as little energy as possible because the turnaround time in these games are very short. Because we played two days ago and we are going to play two days from now,” Ferguson said.

“It’s very important in this phase to win your games but with the least amount of energy, get the youngsters to recover and ready for the next one to come.”

For Haile Selassie, their semifinal hopes went up in smoke despite their best efforts to contain the many-time champions. Assistant coach Ira Hemmings said that their inability to take advantage of their earlier opportunities, combined with defensive lapses led to their defeat.

“We tried to play a very patient game, allow JC to play in their half and squeeze them at the half-line. But unfortunately we got two early chances that we did not put away. JC got one chance from one mistake that we made in the middle of the park. From there it was an uphill task,” Hemmings noted.

It was an uphill task that they could not navigate in a season where they made it further than anyone expected.

JC, though, they are now right where they anticipated to be with a game left in the round.

“Heading into this round we are the best attacking team and the best defensive team. We pride ourselves to defend even a slim margin,” Ferguson said.

“But we also pride ourselves on scoring more than one goal in every game.”

Meanwhile, St Andrew Technical High School joined JC in the semifinals for the fifth straight year after edging Wolmer’s Boys 1-0 in the second game of the doubleheader. Omari Laing came off the bench to score the winner in the 89th minute.

While it may have been frustrating for the supporters after missing opportunities, head coach Philip Williams said his team was not deterred.

“We played a consistent and patient game. We didn’t need to rush or panic. We just played consistently and played our system and in the end our patience paid off,” Williams said.

Despite their best efforts, Wolmer’s failed to shut the door on STATHS at the crucial moment and their faint semifinal hopes were dashed.

Yesterday’s results

JC 2 Haile Selassie 0

STATHS 1 Wolmers 0

Today’s games

Charlie Smith vs Kingston College at 1:00 p.m.

Mona High vs St George’s College at 3:15 p.m.

Games to be played at Stadium East*