Hydel eyeing first Manning Cup title

LAST YEAR’S ISSA Manning Cup beaten finalists Hydel High School will be hoping they can go one step further in this season’s campaign as they gear up for a highly anticipated fixture against Kingston College (KC) in the semifinals today at the National Stadium.

Hydel will take on KC in the second match of a doubleheader at 6:00 p.m. after Jamaica College (JC) face off against St Catherine in the first encounter at 3:30.

Hydel saw their hopes for the school’s first-ever Manning Cup title slip from their grasp last year when they were clipped 1-0 by Mona in the final.

Now back in the final four of the competition, they are hoping to go all the way this time around but will first need to get by a Vassell Reynolds-led KC unit.

Devon Anderson, head coach of Hydel, is eyeing a victory against KC on their way to lift the coveted crown.

“We want to go one step further and do one better than last year,” he said.

“We have been to two finals and we never did so well. This time, we don’t just want to go to the final, we want to go beyond. But we’re taking it one game at a time and hope the guys are ready and raring to go.”

Opportunity for revenge

Anderson also views the match as an opportunity for revenge for his team who were thumped 6-1 by KC earlier this season in the competition’s second round.

After their heavy defeat, Anderson insisted the scoreline was not a true reflection of his team’s quality.

He explained they had struggled to play in the wet conditions on the day, but expects fairer weather will allow them to give a better account of themselves.

“Most definitely, we’re going there to play our ball game. As for now, the weather is favouring a better game, unlike the first one in the pouring rain that had the players sliding all over the place. Nevertheless, we were defeated but we recovered and we’ll be coming back.”

KC will be hoping they can make up for their elimination from the ISSA Champions Cup as they aim to end the season with the urban schoolboy title.

It has been three years since the famed purples last hoisted the Manning Cup trophy, a run which Reynolds will hope to end in time for the school’s 100th-year anniversary.

In the other semifinal, JC will look to get the better of St Catherine on their quest for their 32nd Manning Cup title.

The boys from Old Hope Road will once again be without their starting goalkeeper Tawayne Lynch who had been suspended by ISSA after their opening Champions Cup game against McGrath.

The silver lining for JC, however, should they make it past St Catherine in the semifinal, Lynch will be eligible to play as today’s match will be his final game suspended this season.

St Catherine’s Anthony Patrick-led squad will be trying to recover from a 2-0 loss to Ocho Rios and aim for their first-ever Manning Cup title.

The two teams had met earlier in the second round of the competition where they played out a dull 1-1 draw.

“It’s a knockout game and any number can play. It’s a semifinal and both teams will be going for it definitely. Hopefully, we can get the job done in the semifinals and really push for it going forward.”

Today’s games

JC vs St Catherin at National Stadium (3:30 p.m.)

Hydel vs KC at National Stadium (6:00 p.m.)