KC, StGC share Roper Cup

The Roper Cup was shared last Saturday as the Under-35 and schoolboy Manning Cup teams from St George's College (StGC) and Kingston College (KC) ended 1-1 each at Cloverly Park.

The Under-35s provided a lot of fun for the fair-sized crowd, but it was the Manning Cup teams' clash in the second match which proved more interesting.

KC were more offensive in the early stages of the first half, but were kept at bay by strong defending from StGC.

However, the Neville 'Bertis' Bell-coached StGC found their rhythm midway the first half and were gifted a goal when national Under-17 representative, Romario Jones, headed home from close range, this after the goalkeeper failed to collect the ball properly.

Both schools, which are preparing for this year's Manning Cup season which begins in September, created a number of clear-cut chances in the second half, but faulty shooting let them down.

Marcel Gayle, assistant coach of StGC, was somewhat pleased with his team's performance.

"I am proud of my players because I think they stuck to the game plan," said Gayle.

"However, I think that we should have put away some easy chances that we created in front of the goal, but it is a match among arch-rivals and sometimes the crowd gets to them," he said.

Continuing, Gayle said: "I have been seeing a lot of improvements in my team and I believe that we will be ready when the Manning Cup starts next month.

In the meantime, Trevor 'Jumpy' Harris, coach of KC: "It was an ordinary performance from us, but it is ok at this point in time."

"Our control wasn't good and our movement off the ball was questionable, and at times the passing was poor," Harris added.

Both schools also shared the George Thompson Trophy, after both junior matches ended 2-0. KC's Under-14 side defeated StGC 2-0, while STGC returned to capture the Under-16 match 2-0.

The StGC Over-35 team won the Pancho Rankine Cup, beating STGC 1-0. Andrew Johnson scored the lone goal for STGC in the first half.

robert.bailey@gleanerjm.com