DEVOI ON THE GO
Excelsior ease past Haile Selassie 3-1 in Manning Cup
Excelsior High returned to winnings ways in group E of the issa/digicel Manning Cup football competition with a 3-1 victory over visitors Haile selassie High yesterday.
Damorney Hutchinson scored in the second minute before Chad Mcken doubled the advantage in the 36th minute of the encounter at Excelsior’s Mountain View Avenue base.
But, in the 42nd minute, Excelsior’s Tajhay Williams conceded an own goal as Haile Selassie entered the half-time break down 1-2.
Rohan Beadle’s successful penalty kick in the 90th minute for Excelsior killed off a spirited second-half fight from Haile Selassie.
With the win, Excelsior — losers to group leaders St Catherine High in their previous outing — move to nine points from four games. Haile Selassie stay third on four points.
In another Group E game, St Catherine (nine points), who lead the group courtesy of a superior goal difference to Excelsior, remain perfect from three starts after whipping hosts Penwood High 7-0.
Also in Group E, hosts Oberlin High held St Mary’s College to a 0-0 result.
In a post-game interview, Excelsior Head Coach Daniel Riley was satisfied after his team stuck to the coat-tails of St Catherine.
“We feel pleased about that [the win]…it’s all about getting the points, and we’re feeling good,” Riley told the Jamaica observer.
“We could have scored more goals and we could have created more chances, but sometimes schoolboys get excited and they tend to do things [differently] from what we’d want them to do,” he added.
Riley noted that the level of his team’s play dropped after the half-time interval.
“The approach from the players was to take down the tempo of the game, and it was a situation where the opponents thought they were still in the game and that can be very dangerous. But all said and done, our team stood up and they did the work.
“Going forward we just have to work on how to approach a game when you’re in the lead and how to maintain that intensity. I wasn’t dissatisfied, but I know we can do better,” the Excelsior coach explained.
Jermaine Miller, the Haile Selassie head coach, was disappointed his side did not get more from the encounter.
“We didn’t play our best game today [and], looking at this Excelsior team, I think we could have got a better result.
“We got off to a very poor start, conceding in the second minute and then conceding again later in the half, so it was always an uphill task. We fought back and got a goal, but in the second half I don’t think we did enough to get another goal,” Miller reasoned.
The Haile Selassie coach told the observer that staff and players will have to rebound in time for the visit of St Catherine on Monday.
“We are behind the eighth ball, as one would say, going back to our home field against St Catherine High, the group leaders. It’s going to be another difficult game, but we’ll see how best we can get things together for it,” said Miller.