St Catherine, Mona advance to Walker Cup final in contrasting fashion
CHAMPIONS St Catherine High School and first-time finalists Mona High School had contrasting wins to qualify for the final of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (Issa)/digicel Walker Cup on Friday.
St Catherine High required penalty kicks to get the better of Excelsior High after playing out a 1-1 draw in regulation time, while Mona High blew away Kingston Technical 5-0 at Stadium East.
In the opening game at the venue, Mona High, who had the allure of their first-ever senior football final appearance as motivation, lined up against former champions Kingston Technical in what was expected to be a close battle, but Romarion Thomas gave his team a stranglehold on the game with a firsthalf brace.
The game had been in the balance up to the 27th minute when Thomas scored his first from close range. Two minutes from the break he made it 2-0 with a thunderbolt from distance that goalkeeper Kerron Grant got a hand to but could not keep out of the net.
The third goal of the game was always going to be crucial and when Robino Gordon made it 3-0 in the 51st minute, the game was as good as over.
Keneldo Brown made it 4-0 in the 54th minute as he waltzed past two Kingston Technical defenders and slid the ball into the far corner as Mona threatened to run riot.
Damoi Whitfield then rounded out the scoring at 5-0 in the 73rd minute as Craig Butler guided Mona High to their first final.
The feature game, which was a rematch of the 2019 final, went the way of St Catherine High once again, but this time it was decided from the penalty spot.
The game ebbed and flowed in the first half, with both teams enjoying periods of territorial dominance.
As the half drew to a close, Excelsior took the lead when a shot from Jevaughnie Simms deflected into the net off St Catherine defender Joshua Seivwright in the 37th minute.
St Catherine’s second-half response was swift. They were level just two minutes after the restart when Nickyle Ellis executed a beautiful lob from the edge of the box which went over the head of Jadavin Waul and into the back of the net.
Both teams created chances for the rest of the game but failed to find the mark, leading to the dreaded penalty kicks to decide the outcome.
The most amazing penalty shoot-out then ensued as the first seven takers failed to score.
Excelsior High were the first team to take aim but their first four players failed to convert from 12 yards, while the first three players for St Catherine High also missed.
The two players who scored for their teams in regulation time then got the job done from the penalty spot.
Ellis was the first to score for St Catherine, leaving Simms to score for Excelsior to keep the contest alive. He duly obliged, leaving Jevin Parkinson with the chance to take the champions back to the final.
Parkinson was calm in executing the winning penalty, showing up both his teammates and the Excelsior players as St Catherine High won the shootout by a slim 2-1 margin despite all 10 kicks being taken.
The Walker Cup final will be played next Saturday at Stadium East as the curtain-raiser to the Manning Cup final.