Munro make winning start as lightning halts Cornwall clash

Munro College made a winning start to the ISSA daCosta Cup quarterfinal round on Tuesday while a lightning strike forced the abandonment of the other group fixture between Cornwall College and Denbigh High.

Munro maintained their unbeaten home record with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Kemps Hill, securing three valuable points in the race for a semi-final berth.

Head coach Everdean Scarlett expressed delight at the result, highlighting the importance of opening the round with a victory.

“I’m extremely happy. I mean, you always want to win your first game in the group,” Scarlett said.

“We’re playing at home, and we wanted this win to stamp our class. I mean, we have always remained undefeated at home in the daCosta Cup, and I’m happy that my team did that today.”

Scarlett also praised the mentality of his players, crediting their determination for securing the result.

“If you look at the team we have, we have a pretty good crop of youths. I mean, they want to win, and they don’t know how to lose. They’ll keep fighting to the end. When I got in, I just had to work on the mindset of the guys. They worked hard for this, and I’m happy that we got the three points today.”

For Kemps Hill, the defeat was a frustrating one after failing to make the most of their chances.

“It’s disappointing, you know, knowing that we got the majority of the chances but we didn’t convert,” head coach Kiegon Mitchell said.

“Munro only got one chance, and they convert, so it’s just one of those games. We’ll just have to regroup, pick ourselves up again and then get ready for the next two games.”

Elsewhere, the clash between 12-time champions Cornwall College and Denbigh High at the Cornwall College playing field was abandoned after a lightning strike during the first half.

The match, which started 30 minutes late because of inclement weather, was stopped shortly before half-time after Denbigh players Omarion Wright and Lashawn Barnaby were struck by lightning and left lying on the field.

Both players were later transported to hospital by ambulance.

Medical personnel subsequently instructed players and coaching staff from both teams to leave the field because of the continuing threat posed by the weather while match officials were also reportedly affected by the incident.

At the time of the stoppage, Cornwall led 1-0 courtesy of a fifth-minute strike from Demarco Finnikin.

The contest was halted after 40 minutes and will be rescheduled by ISSA at a later date.

The results leave Munro atop the early quarterfinal standings, while Cornwall and Denbigh will have to wait for the completion of their fixture before fully launching their campaigns.