‘We will be back’

FOLLOWING HIS team’s 3-1 defeat to Kingston College (KC) in the ISSA Manning Cup final on Friday, St Catherine High School assistant coach Donovan Lofters promised the school will continue their chase for their first-ever Manning Cup title in the years to come.

First-time finalists St Catherine were handed a bittersweet end to their history-making campaign as they could not hold off the purple tidal wave that was KC at the National Stadium.

Going 3-0 down by the 53rd minute of the game, the boys from St John’s Road could not find the goals needed to rally.

Speaking after the match, Lofters said despite the result, the players could leave the field with their heads held high after their hard-fought efforts on the pitch.

“It means a lot for us. We are here at the end, so there is nothing for us to be ashamed of. We showed some character after going 3-0 down and we came back and we fought. It’s our first time in the finals, so some of the guys were a little bit nervous but after a while we did well.”

He said while the team did not walk away with the grand prize, their achievements throughout the season have made their campaign one to remember.

St Catherine had qualified for the final for the first time in the school’s history, and by virtue of making it to the semifinals of the Manning Cup, also made a long-awaited debut in the prestigious ISSA Champions Cup knockout competition.

“You can call it a defeat but we are privileged to be in the final two teams and we feel great. The fans are still here celebrating with us, they’re hugging us and they are proud of us. It is not our day today, but we will be back.”

For several of St Catherine’s key players, including captain Romaine Walters and goalkeeper Omarion Brown, Friday’s defeat was the end of the line as their schoolboy football careers came to an end.

“I’m really disappointed because this was my last year and I don’t really have any more chances to win the Manning Cup or to win anymore titles,” Brown said.

However, Lofters said the team will remain competitive as they have several young players in the under-16 and under-14 programmes ready to make the step up to the Manning Cup level.

“We have a lot of quality players sitting out, waiting in Colts and Pepsi,” he affirmed.

“As you know, we had a 12-year-old playing sweeper for us as a substitute. We are building and we have a good programme at St Catherine, so we will be back. It was our first time today but it is not going to be our last.”