Charlie Smith High had to settle for a share of the spoils as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Excelsior High in Group B of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/LIME Manning Cup football competition at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex yesterday.

Despite dropping points for a second time, Charlie Smith continue to lead the group on 14 points, three ahead of Excelsior, who now have 11 points. Third-placed Vauxhall High moved up to eight points following a 5-0 whipping to Mona High, who remain at the bottom of the table on one point.

The start of the game was delayed by 20 minutes to allow Excelsior the opportunity to change their jerseys to avoid a clash of colour with the hosts. When the game eventually got under way both teams seemed unsettled, but it was Charlie Smith who came close to opening the scoring when a shot by Keyshawn Williams came back off the upright.

However, it was Excelsior who broke the deadlock in the 12th minute when Tereek Anderson scored a well placed free kick from just outside the 18-yard box.

The hosts then came into their own and created numerous goal scoring opportunities but failed to beat goalkeeper Romario Palmer, who was outstanding in the goal for Excelsior.

The second half was dominated by Charlie Smith as Excelsior were forced to play a more defensive formation having just one player up front. The Jerome Waite-coached Charlie Smith were all over the Excelsior defence and finally got the equaliser in the 67th minute when a long pass from Odane Samuels picked out Chevon Crooks, who outsprinted two defenders before firing past Palmer.

Charlie Smith could have won by a wide margin but faulty shooting resulted in them having to settle for the draw.

Waite believed that his team’s dominance should have given them the three points, but he is not perturbed by the draw.

“This game was dominated by the Charlie Smith team, we created many chances in which the game should have been out of the reach of this team as early as the first half. Excelsior played a spirited first half, but we took over the game in the latter stages, so overall it was a good performance and a point in the end is good because we are still in the lead,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Meanwhile, Leebert Halliman said that faulty defending cost them the game.

“We were not marking at the back and they got a goal. We still have a few of our players out with the chik-V, but we still came here and gave it our best shot, despite the weakness in our backline which resulted in us giving up a goal,” he lamented.

Yesterday’s results

Group B

Vauxhall 5, Mona 0

Charlie Smith 1, Excelsior 1

Group C

Edith Dalton 1, Innswood 2

Denham Town 1, Tivoli 1

St Mary’s College 1, Ardenne 0

Group F

Calabar 1, St Jago 2

St Catherine 6, Penwood 0

Hydel 7, Eltham 1