- Michael SloleyStephen Morrissey of Jonathan Grant (front) stumbles after being pushed from behind by a Bridgeport defender in Manning Cup semi-final action at the Constant Spring field yesterday. The match was called off at 0-0 in extra time and will be replayed this week.
Charmaine Austin, Staff Reporter
SPANISH TOWN yesterday turned on a spellbinding performance against former champions Charlie Smith, defeating them 4-2, to qualify for the November 17 Pepsi/Sports Plus Manning Cup final.
Semi-final action at the Constant Spring field saw Alton Brown strike twice for the winners (39th and 63rd minutes) with the other two goals coming from Domani Gordon (43rd) and Valentine Gardner (77th).
Kimarley Campbell and Marcelino Blackburn were the scorers for Charlie Smith, netting in the 27th and 36th minutes respectively.
First-time finalists Spanish Town will have to wait to know their opponents however as the other semi-final involving Bridgeport and Jonathan Grant was called off in extra time and booked for replay this week.
Highlighting the November 17 final is the fact that two St. Catherine teams will meet for the first time in the competition's history.
"It doesn't matter who we play in the final, the important thing is that we are there," says Spanish Town's coach Anthony Thompson.
"Our team is good. We put on a high quality performance because we got a good team (Charlie Smith) to play. We did much better than we did in our last game," he said.
Spanish Town dominated the first part of the match but faltered after about 25 minutes when stone throwing interrupted play.
Charlie Smith capitalised on the advantage and scored two before Spanish Town got off the mark.
Second-half action belonged solely to Spanish Town.
Charlie Smith's coach, Jerome Waite, gave credit to his team despite their loss.
"This bunch won Colts last year and I still give them credit for their performance today. It's a young team but they gave of their best.
"Spanish Town did very well. The second half was totally theirs. It was good to see them capitalise on a weakened Charlie Smith.
Bridgeport and Jonathan
Grant drew 0-0 at the end of regulation time but referee Victor Stewart stopped the match citing poor visibility and rain among the factors.
Jonathan Grant had the better of play but brilliant goalkeeping by Bridgeport's Maurice Evans ensured the scoresheet remained clean.
Coached by C. Alexander Parkes, Jonathan Grant took the game to their opponents as Bridgeport's impressive strike pair of Kemar Peterkin and Dean Thompson proved impotent, getting very few passes from their midfield.
Jonathan Grant, on the other hand, had received solid performances from Curtis Thompson, Kemeel Wolfe and Rafe Wolfe.
