Lennon High ended St Elizabeth Technical High School’s (STETHS) six-year reign as ISSA/FLOW Ben Francis Cup knockout champions with a 4-2 penalty shoot-out victory after playing to a 1-1 draw in full and extra time at Manchester High School yesterday.

Tavis Grant gave Lennon High the lead in the 16th minute with a 30-metre effort that sailed past the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Kenroy Wallace.

But, once again, STETHS showed the resilience that brought them six-consecutive titles. They never gave up and keep searching for the equaliser. But when Lennon’s outstanding goalkeeper Tyronne Mullings pulled off the save of the game in stoppage time, plucking the ball out of the top left hand corner of his goal for a corner kick, it seemed that Lennon High would have held on in normal time.

But from the resulting corner kick, and with basically the last play of the game, STETHS found the equaliser. The tall Demar James headed home in the 93rd minute sending the game into extra time.

Both teams failed to find the clincher in the 20 minutes of extra time and the dreaded penalty shoot-out was called into play.

Lennon went first and Kwesi Watts, Christopher Randall, Tavis Grant, and Jason Johnson all tucked away their spot kicks. STETHS scored their first two shots courtesy of Nickalous Gayle and Clifton Woodbine, but Alex Thompson and Ccaptain Chris-Andrew Dixon missed terribly, sending the orange and blue-clad Lennon High supporters into a frenzy.

It’s the first title for boys from the Clarendon-based school that is more famous for their domination of girls’ football over the years.

Formed in 1969 and located in the cool hills of Mocho in Clarendon, the then Mocho Junior High, now Lennon, first announced themselves in 2010 when they reached the final of the daCosta Cup and lost to Rusea’s High.

Six years on, Lennon High School went one better, capturing their first senior boys’ football title, and it could not be said they are not deserved champions.

From the opening whistle in front a packed crowd at Manchester High, Lennon were sharper and quicker to the ball than their more illustrious opponents, and it was no surprise when they took the lead. The outstanding Grant saw his shot nestled in the back of the net, although the goalkeeper should have made a better attempt at an intercept.

But STETHS would not relinquish their title easily and fought back to the very end, and when the fourth official signalled three minutes of time added on, they went into overdrive and found the equaliser, sending the game into extra time and eventually penalty kicks.

Clearly having the better of the two goalkeepers, the advantage seemed to be with Lennon High, but he didn’t have to make a save because STETHS’s two missed kicks were miles from the goal.

The Lennon team was swarmed by adoring fans as the celebration crescendoed to another level with the blowing of vuvuzelas and anything that made noise. Winning coach Merron Gordon, dressed in white, emerged later from the crowd holding his daughter. He could not contain his joy.

“It’s a great feeling. I just want to thank God for these wonderful and disciplined boys that we have,” said Gordon.

“We are not strong financially, but we believed in what we had and what we say we are going to deliver, and they dug deep and spent on this team in every way. And I am happy I can take this back home as a present to Lennon and Mocho,” he added.

“This is very big. In 2010 we missed it, and I remember in 2008 when the girls won in similar fashion it was big. We know male football in bigger in Jamaica, so this is even bigger,” said Gordon, who was the head coach of Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz for 10 months ending in 2014.

Meanwhile, Wendell Downswell the technical director of STETHS, had high praises for his team’s resilience and for the good performance of the new champions.

“It was a hard-fought game; kudos to the Lennon team. I thought their goalkeeper was brilliant, but when it comes to penalty it can go either way, and they had the better nerves; so congratulation to them,” said Downswell.