HYDEL High and Jamaica College (JC) were big winners in Group I of the ISSA Digicel/Gatorade Manning Cup second round at Constant Spring yesterday.

Hydel are now on four points and lead the group on goal difference over former winners JC after drubbing Denham Town, 5-0, through a brace from Nigerian-born striker Patrick Okonkwo.

JC, meanwhile, turned back rivals Kingston College (KC), 3-0, in the other game to also move to four points.

Hydel and JC drew 0-0 in their opening game of the group, while KC edged Denham Town, 3-2. This means KC (three points) trail the front two by a point after yesterday’s defeat, but are still in with a chance of advancing to the last four.

In the feature game, the ‘Dark Blues’ of Old Hope Road, with goals from captain Junior Flemming, Malique Foster and Kevin Blackwood, came out easy winners against the ‘Purples’ of North Street.

JC could not have got off to a better start as only four minutes into the game, a KC defender was called for hand ball inside the area. Flemmings dispatched the resulting penalty to give his team an early cushion.

Fifteen minutes later, Foster made it 2-0 when he beat goalkeeper O’Brian Duncan with a neat, diving header from a Rushane Marrett cross.

KC rarely threatened the JC goal and 11 minutes into the second half the winners added a third when Blackwood’s deflected shot gave Duncan little chance.

JC’s assistant coach Delroy Brown said the game was easier than they anticipated.

“We wanted goals and we got three, so we can’t complain… but when we play KC we always play with a lot of intent,” he said.

KC’s coach Donovan Hayles said such a heavy defeat wasn’t expected.

“JC is a quality team… but we didn’t expect to lose by such a large margin… but it’s not over yet; we will have to win our last game and see what happens from there,” he said.

In the curtain-raiser, Okonkwo led the Mandela Highway-based Hydel, with two goals in five minutes to hit the wind out of their opponents, whom they were beating for the first time in three meetings this season.

Denham Town drew and won against the Geoffrey Maxwell-coached team in the preliminary round, but Okonkwo’s strikes in the 24th and 29th minutes set the stage for a easy Hydel win.

Horlando Palmer made it 3-0 for Hydel in the 32nd minute of play before captain Errol McNeil fired home from the edge of the area to make it 4-0. Taffarell Crossdale sealed the win with another strike 12 minutes from the end

Maxwell was happy to finally to have finally got the measure of their nemesis.

“We did enough to win, but it wasn’t our best performance… we can play better. But today there was an improvement compared to the last time we played them,” he said.

Denham Town’s coach Desmond Francis said his team just did not show up for the game.

“We had a very bad first half and even after I spoke with them at half-time, we still didn’t play well in the second half,” he said.