CAPTAIN MARCELINO Blackburn and Kimarley Campbell scored hat-tricks in Charlie Smith's 10-0 drubbing of Waterford in their opening Pepsi-Sports Plus Manning Cup football game at the Tony Spaulding Sports Complex yesterday.
Realising that their opponents were technically weak, 'Charlie' went on a goal-scoring spree registering four goals by halftime.
Blackburn scored his three (sixth, 19th and 38th minutes) during that period while Campbell registered his first in the 39th minute.
Upon resumption, it was clear that jaded Waterford would not be able to contain their opponents who, despite their advantage, marked tightly and added character to the game with good crossover plays.
Daniel Lee and Chevon Walters got their names on the scoresheet with two goals apiece while Campbell improved his tally with strikes in the 69th and 70th minutes.
"It was a comprehensive victory. At the rehearsal yesterday (Monday) we worked out their weaknesses and decided on a plan to approach the game. We went more for accuracy than power and that gave us the result we had worked towards.
"We had bargained for 12 but we got 10. That's still good," said Charlie Smith's assistant coach Caron Butler.
The drubbing didn't sit well with Waterford's coach Everton James and he promised that the team shouldn't be "written off" because of the embarrassing result.
"Don't write us off yet. You can expect us to come back. Never say die is the approach we will take into every game," Jamesd said.
"It's just unfortunate that we had to play a former champion in our opening game but is so it go. The players just went to pieces. Ninety per cent of them have never played here before and I think they were awed by the field so that three them off a little bit. We just need to settle down and we'll be alright," he said.
Meanwhile, at Tinson Pen, former champions Tivoli Gardens and Norman Manley played to a 0-0 draw in their opening round Group E match at Tinson Pen.
In a game where both sides created several scoring opportunities, especially Norman Manley, neither was able to break the deadlock.
The game started with both teams playing even, until Tivoli took over for a brief stint with Andre Johnson (left side) and Anthony Abrahams (right) mainly responsible for most of their attacks in the first 20 minutes.
A few minutes later, Norman Manley got their first chance of the match but with only the goalkeeper to beat, Andrew Findley fired over the crossbar.
An easier chance later fell to Nicholas Hoshing, who failed to tap in a ball, which dropped on his feet after a mix-up in Tivoli's six-yard box.
After the break, Norman Manley looked the better team and should have taken the lead in the 80th minute, but Flonzel Baker saved the day on two occasions for Tivoli. The hard working defender cleared two balls off the line in succession, one from a left-sided corner, which beat the goalkeeper and the other from the right.
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Charlie Smith 10 Waterford 0, Kingston Technical 6 Kingston High 1, Bridgeport 5 Camperdown 1, Edith Dalton-James 5 Cumberland 1, Campion 4 Meadowbrook 3, St. Jago 2 Mona 0, Dunoon 1 St. Andrew Technical 0, Pemroke Hall 1 Tarrant 0, Trench Town 0 St. George's 0, Norman Manley 0 Tivoli 0, Jonathan Grant 0 Kingston College 0.
