Walker Cup KO battle begins

The first round of the revamped ISSA Walker Cup knockout competition is set to get under way today with 28 schools getting into action across the Corporate Area, including both seeded and unseeded teams.

The new format of the Walker Cup will see almost every Manning Cup team starting their campaign in the first round. However, Calabar High and Jamaica College (JC) will not be in action during the first round after receiving byes to the second round.

They received the byes after being drawn against Dunoon Park Technical and Meadowbrook High, two schools which have withdrawn from the competition.

As a feature of the new format, this year’s seeded teams have been awarded the home match for the first round.

As such, defending Walker Cup champions St Catherine High will begin their title defence against Ascot High at the St Catherine High school field.

NEW COACHES

They will, however, start their campaign without last year’s head coach Anthony Patrick. Former Kingston College (KC) head coach Vassell Reynolds has taken the reins of the programme.

St Catherine will be looking for a statement win to start their campaign as they hope to reclaim the title they have won three times in the last seven years.

Over at North Street, KC will begin their campaign when they play hosts to St Mary’s College. KC, which have won the joint-most Walker Cup titles in history, are expected to start as strong favourites.

With Reynolds making the move to St Catherine, it has opened the door for Jermaine Miller to step into the head coach role at North Street.

For St Mary’s College, it will be a stern test for the unseeded team enduring a rough patch in the Manning Cup, having lost their last three games by an aggregate score of 9-2.

Just across the street at Winchester Park, St George’s College (STGC), which have also won the joint-most Walker Cup titles, will welcome Camperdown High in what is expected to be a hotly contested affair.

STGC will also have a new head coach at the helm as veteran Andrew Price has replaced the longstanding figure of Neville Bell on the touchlines.

Camperdown, despite being an unseeded team, are expected to put up a challenge and have shown their quality in the Manning Cup with a perfect record of four wins.

Mona High, last year’s beaten finalists and 2024 Walker Cup champions, will play hosts to Bridgeport High in their quest to reclaim their lost crown.

Norman Manley High, which have been the standout performers in the Manning Cup so far, will get their first true test of the season when they travel to face Vauxhall.

Vauxhall have been a rising force in schoolboy football since Butler took charge of the programme last year.

Vauxhall have shown they have only got better this season after claiming the Ali Cup title during the pre-season, and will have a point to prove when they line up against Norman Manley.

Defending Manning Cup champions Excelsior High will also be in action, and will start as heavy favourites when they play hosts to Kingston Technical.

Despite losing senior players like Kimarly Scott, the Keon Broderick-led team is expected to get past Kingston Technical with little difficulty.

All games are scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m.

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com

Today’s games:

Excelsior vs Kingston Technical at Excelsior

Jose Marti vs Waterford at Jose Marti

Charlie Smith vs Holy Trinity at Charlie Smith

Vauxhall vs Norman Manley at Vauxhall

Mona vs Bridgeport High at Mona

Tivoli Gardens vs Edith Dalton James At Tivoli Gardens

Eltham vs Papine at Eltham

Campion vs Clan Carthy at Buttercup Park

STATHS vs Jonathan Grant at STATHS

St Jago vs Penwood at St Jago

St Catherine vs Ascot at St Catherine

Wolmer’s vs Hillel at Wolmer’s

KC vs St Mary’s College at KC

STGC vs Camperdown High at Winchester Park