Paul A. Reid, Staff Reporter
LAST year's schoolboy football champions started the season with mixed fortunes yesterday as the Pepsi Sports Plus season got underway with a triple-header at Jarrett Park.
Corporate Area Manning Cup champions Tivoli Gardens Comprehensive outclassed Wolmers' Boys 5-1 in the second game after Munro College scored a decisive 3-0 win over daCosta Cup defending champions St. Elizabeth Technical (STETHS).
Meanwhile, nine-time champions Cornwall College defeated St. James High 3-1.
It was Munro's first win over STETHS in at least six years and gave them a superb start in Zone E of the competition.
Coach Neil Harrison described the victory as "well deserved" and said they had achieved their first goal of the season - beating their long-time nemesis - and were now looking forward to topping the zone and then taking it "one step at a time" from there.
Despite the heat and humidity that Harrison said affected his team which is more accustomed to the cool climate of Malvern, Munro had a strong second half as they took the fight to the champions after sitting back for most of the first stanza.
However, they had to wait until the last minute of the first half to take the lead.
Kevin Holmes managed to get behind the STETHS' defence and gave the limping Oral Neufville in goal no chance with a well-placed shot.
Roy Thompson doubled the lead two minutes into the second half when he cannoned a low, hard shot past Neufville at the near post.
The champions should have pulled one back less than a minute later when goalkeeper Marlon Edwards missed cross from the left side but David Thompson's shot was cleared off the line by Kenroy Blake.
Just minutes after his point-blank shot was saved by Neufville, Pierre Lyn got the third when he finished off a nice movement on the right to beat Neufville from just inside the area.
In addition to losing the game, STETHS' substitute forward Dwight Ricketts had to be rushed to the Cornwall Regional Hospital after a clash knocked him unconscious.
Rucka DaCosta scored twice for Tivoli in their win but missed the chance to notch the season's first hat-trick when his penalty kick was saved by Wolmer's goalkeeper Craig Brooks.
Tivoli were never tested by a young Wolmer's team and led 2-0 after just 17 minute and 4-0 at the break.
Kemar Bell opened the scoring after nine minutes when his direct free-kick from just on the edge of the Wolmer's area tore through a badly prepared wall and deflected past goalkeeper Brooks.
Rohan Dean made it 2-0 eight minutes later when he shot into an open goal from just inside the 18 yards area.
DaCosta got his first when he outran the Wolmer's defence to score easily past Brooks in the 40th minute while Orane Simpson converted from the penalty spot on the stroke of halftime after DaCosta was fouled inside the Wolmer's area.
Tivoli then had to wait until the 76th minute for their next goal when DaCosta struck again.
The diminutive forward was soon after fouled in the box again and this time he elected to take the shot only to see Brooks guess correctly, going to his left, to pull off the save.
Wolmer's hit back immediately after the penalty save to score their only goal of the game when Howard Wong beat Simpson from close range.
