St George's, KC hunt glory

Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

St George's College will have grand ambitions of doubling up on the Manning and Walker Cup for a fifth time in their history, but must be wary of rivals Kingston College (KC) ruining the party, when the two meet in the final of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Gatorade/Digicel knockout competition at 2:45 p.m., at the Constant Spring Sports Complex today.

The Light Blues captured their third Manning Cup title in four years with a spirited 3-1 win over Charlie Smith on the weekend, but can expect a tough match from KC, who in the shadow of their neighbours must be green with envy, having captured their last bit of silverware a decade ago.

"It's going to be a tough game, I expect it to be just as tough as the final," George's coach Neville 'Bertis' Bell told The Gleaner yesterday.

"It is something that we have wanted and set as our target. Since we got to the second round we placed our target at winning 10 games, and we are looking forward to it," he added.

St George's, led by striker Kendon Anderson, have certainly set the pace as far as urban schoolboy football teams have gone this season, not only sporting an impressive unbeaten run, but scoring almost 60 goals, while conceding five in the process. And, while the fact that the knockout final being played after the Manning Cup final may seem a bit anticlimactic, Bell insists the Light Blues are taking it seriously.

"We are taking it very seriously. There are a couple of knocks, but we have a deep squad. I think that is one of our strengths this season and we should be OK," he said.

Promising beginning

Kingston College tailed off a bit after a promising beginning to the season, when players like Jhamie Hyde showed great promise. They failed to advance from the second round of the Manning Cup after failing to beat Jamaica College, but their coach, Trevor 'Jumpy' Harris, says his team is ready to go.

"It is a cup final and we are up for it, everyone just has to give all that they have," Harris said.

"It is a KC-George's final, they couldn't possible need more motivation than that," said Harris. "They know the history and they know what is at stake.

"George's have a successful programme over the years and we give them a lot of credit for that, but we are in as well as we give ourselves a chance, the ball is round. In fact, we have only one thing on our mind going into the final, and that is to come away with the trophy."