Cloud over Walker Cup final - Mona, KC set for showdown as JC await verdict

The ISSA Walker Cup final will go ahead as scheduled today at Stadium East, but an unresolved appeal by Jamaica College (JC) will cast a shadow over the showdown between Kingston College (KC) and Mona High.

The final is set to kick off at 4 p.m., with Mona getting a second chance at the title after being reinstated following JC’s expulsion.

JC had advanced to the final after defeating Mona in the semi-final but were subsequently removed after national representative Jamone Lyle, who played in that match, was deemed ineligible to compete in schoolboy football.

Lyle is reportedly under a professional contract with Jamaica Premier League (JPL) club Waterhouse, a status that makes him ineligible for ISSA competitions under the association’s regulations.

Mona were consequently reinstated and will face KC, who booked their place in the final after getting past Excelsior High in their semi-final encounter.

JC were also docked points from Manning Cup matches in which Lyle played and barred from participating in the 2027 Walker Cup.

A STRONG APPEAL

JC has strongly challenged the disciplinary committee’s ruling, disputing the validity of Lyle’s reported contract and questioning the manner in which ISSA conducted its investigation.

While there were reports that ISSA would meet at 6 p.m. yesterday to make a ruling on the appeal, no such meeting took place.

Instead, JC principal Wayne Robinson said the school submitted its appeal and expects to receive a decision from the ISSA executive at 9 a.m. today.

“We turned up at the ISSA headquarters because we thought, and apparently mistakenly so, that the hearing that we got the notice for was a face-to-face, and clearly it was not,” Robinson explained.

“So we sat at the gate and wrote the submission about what our appeal was and sent it in to ISSA. It says by 9 o’clock [today] we will hear the result of the appeal to the executive.”

In its appeal, JC described the sanctions imposed by ISSA as “unsupportable, extreme and excessive”, while challenging the basis of the disciplinary ruling.

JC Board chairman Lance Hylton also disputed claims from Waterhouse president Donovan White that the school had been informed of Lyle’s professional contract, insisting that no member of the administration had received such notification.

The school has not ruled out legal action over the matter but is currently pursuing the appeals process within ISSA.

Despite the uncertainty, ISSA competition’s officer, Ewan Scott, said the final remains on schedule.

“I cannot pre-empt the decision from the meeting. Hence, until advised otherwise, there is no change,” Scott told The Gleaner.

SHIFTING FOCUS

With the appeal still hanging over the competition, Mona must now put the circumstances behind them and focus on the opportunity to claim the Walker Cup title.

KC, meanwhile, will enter the final looking to add another title to the school’s rich football tradition and provide a strong early statement under newly appointed head coach Jermaine Miller.

Miller, who will take charge of his first final with KC, believes that his players understand what is expected of them and are ready to embrace the pressure.

“Just as any other school, we are here to challenge for titles,” Miller said. “We know what we want to do, and we just have to get the job done by any means.

“Everyone knows what Kingston College is all about. The fans demand a lot, the management teams demand a lot, and I demand a lot from myself and my players.”

Miller said the pressure that comes with representing KC is something his players must learn to handle if they are to compete for championships.

“We want the players to be at their best, so in terms of pressure, it is football. If you want to be champions, you have to deal with pressure, and we’re doing that just fine.”

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com