MONTEGO BAY, St James — Jamario Hines was one of the most relieved players on the field last Saturday as referee Valdin Ledgister blasted his whistle to end the ISSA/FLOW daCosta Cup final at the Montego Bay Sports Complex, signalling Cornwall College’s 2-1 win over St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS).

Hines, goalkeeper and captain of the Cornwall College team that won their 12th title and first in 15 years, admitted he shed “tears of joy as it has been a long journey and a long season”.

By their own admission, Cornwall College underperformed in the last two seasons when they were expected to at least make it to the semi-final stages but fell short.

“Yes, it makes up for the last two years, it does a lot,” Hines told the Jamaica Observer yesterday as Cornwall College celebrated their victory. “It gave us the push we needed to come together more and to be more disciplined and focused on the goals we set for ourselves.”

‘Droopy’, as he is nicknamed, added: “Winning the daCosta Cup is a good feeling, as last year was tough, but we grew from that and this year we were stronger.”

After winning at the Under-14 and Under-16 levels, taking the all-island title in 2012 before losing to STETHS in the Rural Area Under-16 in 2013, a lot was expected of the Cornwall College team, but last season they were beaten 4-3 by Petersfield High in the inter-zone round at Frome and failed to advance; and in 2014 they were beaten 2-0 by Glenmuir High in the quarter-finals with a team that was ravaged by the viral disease ChikV.

Interestingly, Hines was the goalkeeper in the 2013 Under-16 final against STETHS that lost and was blamed for his mistake late in extra time that saw STETHS win 1-0.

On Saturday against a number of the same players he faced three years ago, Hines admitted to being “a bit nervous” at the start of the game.

“Coach (Dean Weatherly) told me that it was okay to be a little, it’s a good thing as it helps us to remain focused and to think about the game,” he said. “But as a unit we were confident and stuck to the game plan.”

Jourdaine Fletcher’s opening goal in the 73rd minute, he said, “was a big relief for me” and the final whistle, “tears of joy, it was unbelievable, but we finally did it”.

He said they really wanted to win all four titles available to them this season, but after losing in the FLOW Super Cup final and the semi-finals of the Ben Francis KO, “we went back to the drawing board and looked at mistakes we made and learned from them, and then put those games behind us and moved on”.

Hines warned that they are not satisfied with just the daCosta Cup. “This was the main cup we wanted but we know what the Olivier Shield means and we want that one as well.”