DENHAM Town yesterday ambushed St George’s College (STGC) 2-1 to crucially improve their chances of a second-round berth from Group C in the ISSA/FLOW Manning Cup at Winchester Park yesterday.

Jerome Jeffery, in the 14th minute, and Shevon Richards, in the 21st, breached St George’s defence, while Hakeem Williams notched the home team’s consolation in the 62nd minute.

With the win, Denham Town have now joined St George’s College and Innswood High on 19 points, as the battle for group honours now heads to the wire. STGC continue to lead with a superior goal difference and one game remaining against Eltham, while Denham Town are in second position with a better goal difference ahead of Innswood, but will have to win their final fixture against the St Catherine-based team to stand a chance of advancing.

However, Innswood have a game in hand against Eltham today, which represents an easier passage for them to advance and by extension top the group if they maximise.

At North Street, hosts STGC went into the encounter as favourites to secure three points based on their home record, but Denham Town grabbed the early ascendancy when Jeffery’s intended cross eluded defenders and snuck past goalkeeper Cyle Elliott.

The Spanish Town-based boys were thanking their lucky stars again some seven minutes later when a defensive clearance took a deflection off Richards and went past a hapless Elliott.

After preserving their two-goal lead at the break, Denham Town weathered a storm from the ‘Light Blues’ early after the resumption, while orchestrating a few counter-attacks of their own. But an STGC goal was inevitable, and it came when Gregory Messam’s free kick from just outside the 18-yard area took a deflection off the four-man wall and fell in the path of Williams who made no mistake from close range.

The hosts continued to apply consistent pressure in the hunt for the equaliser, but were allowed minimal opportunities to do so and failed to capitalise. And with STGC playing high in attack, Denham Town capitalised on their counter-attack strategy and thought they had extended the lead when Rushane Facey fired past Elliott in time added, but was later ruled offside.

However, the writing was already on the wall for STGC, who were losing at home for the first time in eight years, and were conceding at home for the first time this season.

Winning coach Omar Edwards was elated with his team’s performance.

“Today (yesterday) was a very good game; I liked how both teams played, St George’s kept the ball on the ground and moved it around. However, that was not one of our strengths coming into this game, and so we planned to hit them on the counter and go down the right channel as we got the ball, and it paid off for us,” he told the Jamaica Observer in a post-game interview.

His counterpart Neville ‘Bertis’ Bell was left disappointed, but remains optimistic that his team will top the zone for a spot in the Super Cup and Walker Cup knockout competitions.

“We still have a chance to first qualify for the second round, which was our first aim, and we still have a chance to win the zone. So, yeah, we are very disappointed,” he told journalists.