Hydel look to bounce back against dangerous STATHS

FOLLOWING THEIR humbling 6-1 loss to Kingston College (KC) in the ISSA Manning Cup on Saturday, the pressure will be on Hydel High to bounce back with a much-improved performance when they take on St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) today at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.

Hydel had a poor start to life in the second round of the urban schoolboy football competition, and currently sit at the foot of Group Three without a point.

KC lead the pack with three points while STATHS and Wolmer’s Boys’ are joint second with a point apiece.

Hydel enters today’s fixture knowing anything short of all three points could spell disaster for their ambitions of securing a place in the quarter-final round of the competition.

Devon Anderson, head coach of Hydel, said Saturday’s loss was not a true reflection of his team’s quality.

‘Wheel and come again’

He is now focused on recovering from the heavy defeat and bringing their season back on track with favourable results in the remaining games of the second round.

“I will have to go back to the training ground, regroup, and lift the guys,” Anderson said after his team’s last outing.

“Their heads are down now but I know we’re not six goals worse. But, nevertheless, they are kids and we have a lot of young players ready. We just have to go back and lift them up, wheel and come again. We have two more games, so we’ll take it a game at a time.”

For STATHS, they will be looking to get their first win in the second round after their 2-2 draw against Wolmer’s Boys’ on Friday.

They would have left that match feeling it was two points dropped after wasting several opportunities to secure all three against the Wolmerians.

History will be on their side as STATHS has carved an impressive reputation in the competition. The last time the school failed to advance past the second round of the Manning Cup came during the 2016 season.

The match is set to kick off at 3 p.m.

Wolmer’s Boys’ will also be in action, looking to derail a high-riding KC outfit in their encounter at Stadium East.

KC will enter the fixture with the favourites tag, as they remain unbeaten and boast the best goalscoring record this season, with 77 goals scored across 11 games. They have only conceded five times.

The match, set for 2 p.m., will be the first of a double-header, with Tivoli Gardens and Excelsior taking to the field at 4:10 p.m.

Today’s games

STATHS vs Hydel at Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex (3 p.m.)

Wolmer’s vs Kington College at Stadium East (2 p.m.)

Tivoli Gardens vs Excelsior High at Stadium East (4:10 p.m.)

Campion College vs Mona High at Jamaica College (2 p.m.)

Jamaica College vs Charlie Smith at Jamaica College (4:10 p.m.)

St George’s College vs St Jago at St George’s College (3 p.m.)

Jonathan Grant vs Eltham High at G.C. Foster College (3 p.m.)

Calabar vs St Catherine at Calabar (3 p.m.)