KC, JC meet in big Manning quarter-final clash
TWO of the country’s most successful schoolboy teams, Kingston College (KC) and Jamaica College (JC), will clash in a quarter-final Group A encounter in the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup competition today. The match kicks off from Stadium East at 4:15 pm.
In the opening match of the double-header Campion College will oppose Excelsior Group B at 2:00 pm.
KC, who last won the title in 2021, lead the group with three points from their 5-0 win over Tivoli Gardens.
They are followed by defending champions Mona and JC who are both on one point each. Tivoli Gardens are at the bottom of the table on zero. KC and JC have a combined 47 Manning Cup titles. JC have won the title on 31 occasions while JC are 16-time champions.
Head Coach Vassell Reynolds says KC is looking forward to an exciting encounter but he is confident that once they execute their game, they will win.
“Many people see it as a rivalry but, as a team, we don’t see it as a rivalry because we see it as another difficult game in our pathway in achieving our goal — which is to qualify for the semi-finals,” he said. “We recognise and we know that it is going to be a hard task. The JC team is a good team and well prepared.
“We are very confident in our abilities, and we just need to continue doing what we have been doing and just execute on the day. I think that once we do that, then more than likely the results will be in our favour.”
KC has been one of the top-scoring teams in the Manning Cup competition this season, and Reynolds expects them to come out firing on all cylinders.
“We have been feeling confident throughout the season in terms of our execution in front of goal because we are pretty satisfied with that, even though there is room for improvement. But, I am pretty certain in that area the boys will continue to produce, come Tuesday.”
The Jamaica Observer reached out to JC officials for a comment on the game but received no response.
Tuesday’s games:
Mona vs Tivoli Gardens @ Winchester Park – 3:00 pm
Campion College vs Excelsior @ Stadium East – 2:00 pm
Kingston College vs Jamaica College @ Stadium East – 4:15 pm.
St Catherine vs Hydel @ Spanish Town Prison Oval – 3:00 pm.
