LAST year’s surprise package Holy Trinity High will be hoping to keep pace with favourites Wolmers’ Boys and Spanish Town High in the five-team Group E of the ISSA/LIME Manning Cup competition.

Holy Trinity rattled up an impressive nine wins from 10 games to top Group G last year, but will not have that unknown factor to help them in a group completed by Trench Town and Clan Carthy High.

Last season Holy Trinity went unbeaten in their first-round group stage and were one of the first teams to qualify for the second round. However, Devon Anderson, the assistant coach, believes the departure of some keys players including Jamar Hamilton and Nicholas Dillon will hamper their progress this season.

“We are in a rebuilding process this year where five of our keys players are gone, so a few members of our colts (Under-16) team have come up and we are working with them,” Anderson told the Jamaica Observer.

“We will give a good account of ourselves. We are fighters and our first aim is to advance to the second round,” he added, noting that the semi-finals would be satisfactory.

Nevertheless, Anderson is a bit disappointed with their pre-season preparations, citing the lack of funding, especially after an encouraging season last year.

“We figured more or less we would have things coming our way left, right and centre, but that’s not the case. We have next to no support, only the principal trying her best, so we are struggling,” said Anderson.

But Holy Trinity will find it a little harder keeping pace with the established Wolmers’ Boys and the dangerous Spanish Town High this season.

The Ludlow Bernard-coached Wolmer’s are howling favourites to not only secure one of the two qualifying spots, but to top the group and even win the Manning Cup.

They have lost captain Kemo Wallace, but the core of the team that won the Walker Cup knockout for the last two years are back and will be hard to deny.

Spanish Town will also be in the thick of things having topped Group F last year ahead of Kingston College and another good showing is expected.

In fact, they are tipped to secure second place and a spot into the second round.

The likes of Clan Carthy and Trench Town will have to improve significantly if they harbour any thoughts of making an impression in this group.