KC continue dominance of Manning Cup Zone B

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS Kingston College (KC) produced a solid all-round performance as they defeated Tivoli 4-0 in their top-of-the-table clash in Zone B of the ISSA/WATA Manning Cup competition at the Stadium East field yesterday.

Shareef Ricketts, in the third minute; Jaeshawn Edwards, in the 11th; Jamal Fraser, in the 51st; and Deshawn Byfield, in the 84th, were the goalscorers for KC.

However, KC, who are unbeaten so far this season, ended the match with 10 players after Justin Treasure received a straight red card for a vicious tackle on Tivoli’s Jahiem Fuller in the 69th minute.

KC lead the zone with maximum 18 points from six matches, ahead of Tivoli on 13 and Charlie Smith on 12.

Vassell Reynolds, head coach of KC, said he was very pleased with the team’s efforts.

“I thought we prepared well for this kind of game that we were expecting from Tivoli because they are a good team, technically. Our team did pretty well, because we wanted to start on the front foot and we did; and what was good about it was that we got two early goals, which kind of set the platform for us throughout the game,” he said.

“However, I thought the last 15 minutes of the second half we got complacent and we gave Tivoli too much space to manoeuvre and they put us under a lot of pressure, but we soaked up that pressure and I thought the boys executed very well,” Reynolds said.

“Deep into the second half, we got a red card and we had to play with 10 men for about 20 minutes, but the 10 even scored a goal; so overall, we stood the test and I am satisfied with that performance.”

Tivoli’s head coach, Christopher Nicholas, was left frustrated with his team’s lack of discipline throughout the match.

“I am very disappointed because the lack of discipline is getting the better of us, and it is going to cost us the entire Manning Cup this year if we don’t fix this very quickly,” he said.

“It is not football beating us, because we are playing and we are getting the chances, but still we are not disciplined enough to put away these chances and to keep the shape when we are out of possession in the game.”

Nicholas pointed out that they created a number of chances in front of goal, but the lack of composure and discipline led to them failing to convert any of these opportunities.

“Talent-wise, we have it, but we are getting the chances but we are not putting them away; and against a very good KC team we created some chances, but we made some goalkeeper errors and that also cost us the game.”

Yesterday’s results

Kingston College 4-0 Tivoli Gardens

Charlie Smith 11-0 Tarrant

Haile Selassie 3-2 Jose Marti