Good day for Charlie Smith, KC in Manning

Charlie Smith and favourites Kingston College (KC) made steps forward in the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup football competition following contrasting victories at Stadium East yesterday.

Charlie Smith came from behind to win 2-1 over Excelsior while KC beat Kingston Technical High School (KT) 3-0.

Tyreek Crossman (31st minute) and Andre Gibbs (75th) were the scorers for Charlie Smith, and Javaughnie Simms scored for Excelsior in the 20th minute.

KC, who are unbeaten this season, were led to victory courtesy of a brace from Christopher Pearson in the 86th and 90th minutes. Jemone Barclay netted the opening goal in the 17th minute.

The Purples, who last won the title in 2018, lead the group with six points with one round of matches left. They are followed by Charlie Smith and Excelsior, who are tied on three points, ahead of KT, on zero. Charlie Smith will now oppose KT in their final game while Excelsior face KC.

It was a bittersweet victory for KC after winger Ron-Jay Watson was substituted in the 14th minute and taken to hospital for a fractured collarbone after he fell awkwardly under a challenge.

KC head coach Ludlow Bernard said he is happy for the victory, but he was not satisfied with the overall performance.

"I probably would have wanted us to execute a lot better, but we went up against a very spirited Kingston Technical team and I thought that we fell prey to them on a couple of occasions," he said. "I think our standard of play was subpar and it is always a challenge to get consistency in the games, but the important thing is that we did not concede and we scored three goals."

Charlie Smith head coach Eugene Williams was delighted with his team's performance.

"It was a very good effort from my team because this is what we have been asking from them all season," he said. "This victory has given us a lot of confidence, but we are not going to take Kingston Technical lightly on Saturday because we know that it is a must win game for us."