NewzKINGSTON, Jamaica — Several teams could join Norman Manley High in the second round of the Manning Cup as nine games will be played on Wednesday. Group A leader Camperdown High on nine points will face third-placed Holy Trinity High on seven with the winner booking their spot in the second round. Holy Trinity will be playing for a second time in three days, having beaten Jonathan Grant High 2-0 in a rescheduled game on Monday.
Camperdown — three-time Manning Cup winners in 1978, 1979 and 1982 — have fallen from grace and are in the wilderness for 44 years. They entered this year’s Manning Cup as one of the unseeded teams and are fighting to play amongst the elite. And so far, so good, they have won all three games and a win against Holy Trinity will book them a spot in the second round.
Meanwhile, Greater Portmore, who are second in Zone A with seven points, travel to bottom-placed Jonathan Grant on one point and they too know a win would almost secure their second-round berth. Fourth-placed Ascot High on four points tackle fifth-placed Bridgeport High on three points, with both looking to stay in touch with the leaders and trying to keep their hopes alive. Zone B leaders Innswood High on seven points should move a step closer to qualification to the next round with a win over lowly Papine High on one point.
Second-placed Jose Marti High, also on seven points, should secure three points against bottom-placed Clan Carthy, one of only two teams without a point alongside Ardenne High. In what is a very closely-knit group in which only four points separate the top six teams, third-placed St Mary’s College on six points take on fifth-placed Hillel Academy on five points in a crucial encounter. A win for either would keep them in contention.
In Zone C, Norman Manley has already booked their spot, sitting on 12 points and should make mincemeat of lowly Pembroke Hall High in sixth spot on three points. The remaining two spots will see third-placed Edith Dalton James on six points taking on fourth-placed Kingston Technical High on four points in a game neither can afford to lose. Donald Quarrie and Ardenne High meet in a bottom-of-the-table clash of no real significance.
Quarrie are sixth on one point, while Ardenne are bottom in seventh with no points.
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