After being eliminated convincingly from the Walker Cup competition, both Hydel and JC have returned to winning ways.

In a repeat of last year’s final, St George’s College faced Hydel last Tuesday. In a stunning turn of events, Neville ‘Bertis’ Bell started the prolific Cardel Benbow on the bench. It would prove to be an inspired decision. The Blues’ Ryan Miller gave them the lead in the 14th minute. It remained 1-0 up until the 43rd minute when an own-goal sunk Hydel hearts even lower. Still, coach Bell went for the jugular as he introduced Benbow shortly after the break. The striker would go on to assist his team’s third goal and score his own to rout last year’s finalists 4-0, in what coach Geoffrey Maxwell called an ’embarrassing’ way to exit the competition.

In the other quarter-final, Excelsior passed JC 2-0 in an exciting contest to end JC’s unbeaten run. The match proved to be very close, but Excelsior capitalised twice on JC defensive blunders to creep away with the win.

On Friday, both JC and Hydel got past their opponents with a similar one-nil victory. The rivalry between Kingston College and Jamaica College continued as they met in their second round Group H encounter.

Both teams squandered numerous chances and the woodwork was disturbed on a few occasions to the excitement of the spectators. The boys from Old Hope Road upped the pressure in the second half and were rewarded when inspirational captain, Junior Flemmings, shot at goalkeeper Akim Larmond, who turned it for a corner-kick. Flemmings dominantly climbed above the Kingston College defence to head the ball into the back of the net on the hour mark. KC made life difficult, but were held at bay by a confident JC unit.

In the other Group H encounter, Charlie Smith was beaten by tactics and faulty finishing against Hydel. In an openly contested match, Hydel tried to contain the dangerous attack of 2012 finalists Charlie Smith.

Charlie Smith had numerous chances to put away the match; most notable was Chevaun Crooks’ effort. Hydel also had their eye on goal as Renako Allen blasted his shot onto the crossbar. With 10 minutes left, Charlie Smith were reduced to 10 players when Chevaughn Edwards got marching orders for hitting an opponent. Hydel made them pay as Allen rose to the occasion to calmly slot home in extra time.

On Saturday, one-nil continued to be the song of the second round as both games ended with the same scoreline. Excelsior High continued their winning run against Denham Town in their Group I match-up. The boys from Mountain View edged Denham Town to continue their run of form. In the other confrontation, Innswood passed a lacklustre Ascot team one-nil to join Excelsior on three points atop the group.

The second round continues today with Calabar looking to stump a high-flying St George’s College. In the other Group K encounter, Spanish Town will aim to put their Walker Cup loss behind them as they tackle Camperdown High.

— Mikhail Palmer