MANNING CUP
Eltham, JC through, favourites Mona out
Published:Thursday | December 4, 2025 | 12:12 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
ELTHAM HIGH are through to the quarter-finals of the ISSA/WATA Manning Cup after a hard-fought 3-2 win over Spanish Town rivals St Jago in Group 4 of the round of 16 at the Drewsland Stadium yesterday.
The St Catherine school topped the group with seven points and are joined by Jamaica College (JC), who finished second on five points after a 2-2 draw with Mona High School at Stadium East.
Mona ended with four points and St Jago finished at the foot of the table without a point.
At Drewsland, Eltham took the lead after 32 minutes through Santana Headley’s free kick.
Jevaughnie Rowe then doubled the lead two minutes after the break, with a ferocious strike inside the back post.
However, St Jago pulled a goal back after goalkeeper Nickoy Taylor spilled a catch and Travaun Byfield slammed home the loose ball in the 62nd.
Romio Reid restored Eltham’s two goal advantage with a deflected shot from the edge of the box in the 79th.
However, Tahir Beckford reduced the deficit to one again in the 83rd after a foul inside the area, converting the resulting penalty.
Eltham coach Gregory Allen, was pleased to be in the quarter-finals for a second successive year.
“We played well. But we had a bit of a lapse in concentration. Twice. And allowed Jago to score two on us. Nevertheless, I am still pleased with how the youngsters played.
“We set out to win games, and today was another one. We are always grateful when we collect all three points, and we are just looking forward to the rest of the competition.”
Eltham have lost twice this season, both times to St Catherine High, and after being pushed all the way by St Jago, he contends that St Catherine derbies tend to unfold in this way.
“I want to stress that when you have St Catherine derbies, games are going to look like this. The youngsters know one another and these are the things they are going to do, and these are the types of games we are going to see. So it was a tough one for us. But still happy for the victory.
“We set out to go as far as possible in the competition, and we want to continue doing what we are doing.
“We are seeing results and some positive ones. To date, we have only lost two games and it’s basically one team that has beaten us, St Catherine High. But we have been working hard and the players have responded. So I am pleased,” he added.
At Stadium East, first-half goals from Kishwan Lee-Chin and Jamon Lyle put Jamaica College 2-0 up at the interval.
However, two big defensive blunders allowed Sean Leighton and Savi-K Morton to tie the game for Mona in the second half, ensuring a tense finish to the match.
Still, the point meant JC secured their place in the last eight, relegating the highly fancied Mona to the Walker Cup knockout competition.
JC assistant coach Raymond Watson said the aim was simply not to lose.
“It wasn’t a must-win game. The plan was definitely not to lose. First half, we were brilliant, and we went into the changing room thinking the game was over and totally went to sleep in the second half,” he said.