Camperdown hunt hat-trick

Ryon Jones, Gleaner Writer

Camperdown will continue their quest to break away from their rivals in Group D of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Gatorade/Digicel Manning Cup competition, when they journey to Spanish Town Prison Oval to tackle St Jago High in a 3:30 p.m. encounter.

Camperdown are the surprise leader of the group with a perfect six points from two outings, which includes a shock 1-0 win over defending champion Jamaica College (JC) in the opening round followed by a 10-0 drubbing of Cumberland.

St Jago currently occupy second in the group with four points. JC, which lie third on three points, will play away to fifth-place Cumberland (one point). Fourth-place Pembroke Hall with two points will host pointless Kingston Technical.

As Camperdown aim to make it past the group stage for the first time in four seasons, head coach Christopher Bender is warning against complacency.

"The team is cautiously positive and upbeat about playing the game, but every game is different and provides different challenges, especially when playing away under different circumstances," Bender said. "A part of my job is to ensure that the players don't get carried away by the euphoria of winning two games and in the process beating the defending champions.

"We have to ensure that they keep their feet on the ground and let them know that the Manning Cup is not decided after two games or in September," he added.

Camperdown have lifted the symbol of urban area football supremacy on three occasions, but have not done so since 1982's all-conquering team, of which Bender was a member.

Leading the charge

The school's charge this year is being lead by Tevin Garnet and Kemarly Spaulding, who have both netted three goals and their captain Ricardo Oldham. Oldham stands a 50/50 chance of featuring in today's game, however, due to injury, which is also plaguing four other members of the team.

St Jago got the better of Kingston Technical 2-0 in their first game, thanks to strikes from Junior Reid and Romario Constant, but were held to a nil-all draw by Pembroke Hall in their last outing.

The man at the helm at St Jago, Jermaine Allen, believes the key to getting the better of Camperdown is to limit the space available for them to play.

"Camperdown play good football if you allow them to play, but we will not be giving them any space to play," Allen said. "We are going to play hard and we are going to come aggressive, so it is going to be a very interesting game."