Jamaica College beat STATHS to qualify for semis

Robert Bailey, Freelance Writer

JAMAICA COLLEGE (JC) booked its spot in the semi-finals of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Jamaica Hockey Federation (JHF) boys' Under-19 competition with a 2-0 victory over bottom side St. Andrew Technical (STATHS) at the Mona field, on Monday.

With the victory, JC joined defending champions, Munro College, as the first teams to qualify for semis.

Dominated play

Led by a brace from Giovanni Gordon, JC dominated their opponents from the opening whistle. Gordon gave JC the lead in the 14th minute when he fired home a long-range pass from Collin Morrison past goalkeeper Robin Williams and into the back of the net.

Five minutes later, a Morrison close-range effort was well saved by Williams. On the stroke of halftime Theodore Dunn got STATHS' best chance of the half, but his clear shot on goal was just wide.

Coach pleased

Upon resumption, JC continued their dominance and in the 34th minutes, Gordon competed his brace when he dribbled his way past three STATHS defenders and fired home past the advancing Williams.

Orane Charlton, coach of JC, said he was pleased with his team's performance.

"The guys perform very well today although we had one of our key players out. We did what we needed to do - win this game and move ahead as first in the group," Charlton said.

"I am now looking forward to the semi-finals ... our aim this year is to lift the title and we really did put up a good showing," he said. Steven Brown, the coach of STATHS, said: "We didn't execute the chances that we got because and if you don't score goals you won't win matches."

In today's games, St. Andrew High tackle Wolmer's girls at 2:00 p.m. and Munro College oppose Wolmer's Boys' at 3:15 p.m.

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