Ten-man Mona clip Hydel in five-goal thriller

Defending champions Mona High School booked their spot in the semi-finals of the ISSA Walker Cup knockout competition after getting past Hydel High 3-2 yesterday, despite playing a man down at the Waterhouse Stadium.

In the feature game of the double-header played at the Waterhouse Stadium, KC clipped Calabar 2-1 in a hotly contested affair.

Rohan Brown, in the eighth minute, and Shareef Ricketts, in the 16th, scored the all-important goals for KC, while Payton Larmond’s equalising strike in the 14th proved a consolation effort.

Mona and KC will be joined by St Catherine High and Charlie Smith, who also booked their spots in the semi-finals.

Early goal

In the day’s opening game, Joenaldo Payne opened the scoring for Mona in the fourth minute before Javel Watson pulled Hydel level in the 40th from the penalty spot.

Franklyn Mitcham’s strike saw Mona retaking the lead in the 70th before Sean Leighton confirmed the result with a strike in the 73rd.

Ackeem Ewan would spare Hydel’s blushes with a consolation strike in the 77th to cut the deficit down to a goal.

Donovan Duckie, Mona’s coach in the absence of the ill Craig Butler, said their win came down to the team’s individual quality and their tactical changes after going down to 10 players.

“We know that our quality was superior to them so what we did, we changed the shape somewhat to 4-2-3, and we allowed our wing-back to hold the width and we asked them to be patient; and it was a gutsy performance,” he explained.

Mona started the game in the ascendancy as Javade Wallace tested the Hydel goalkeeper within the first three minutes as he left loose a rocket from distance that crashed off the near post.

Payne gave Mona the lead from the resulting corner as he directed a header on target from close range.

Mona continued to press their advantage but found themselves pegged back on level terms when Hydel’s Sean-John Curchar was brought down in the box.

Watson, Hydel’s captain, stepped up and converted from the spot against the run of the play.

Mona continued to press for a second goal with Sean Leighton, Savi-K Morton and Devrahj Singh playing a pivotal role in the team’s attack.

Singh was showed a straight red card just minutes before the half-time whistle for an audacious bicycle kick attempt that struck the face of Damari Bowen.

Despite playing a man down, Mona restored their lead in the 70th minute when second-half substitute Mitcham found the top right corner to finish off an assist from Wallace.

Mitcham turned provider for Mona’s third just three minutes later, playing in Leighton, who beat the goalkeeper to a footrace and tapped home from close range.

Quick response

Hydel quickly responded when Ewan finished into an empty net four minutes later in an attempt to mount a comeback.

Mona, however, saw out the remainder of the game and marched on to the final four.

In the other quarter-finals yesterday, St Catherine High breezed past Vauxhall High in a 5-2 drubbing at the Jamaica College Ashenheim Stadium.

In the second game at the same venue, Charlie Smith clipped Tivoli Gardens 6-1 to advance to the semi-finals.

Mona will next face Charlie Smith in the semi-finals, while St Catherine booked a date against KC.

The semi-finals are set to be played tomorrow at the Ashenheim Stadium, with the final set for Friday, December 19 at the National Stadium.

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com

Yesterday’s Games

Charlie Smith 6-1 Tivoli

Hydel 2-3 Mona

Calabar 1-2 KC

Vauxhall 2-5 St Catherine