By Paul A. Reid, Senior Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
DEFENDING CHAMPIONS Cornwall College led four other schools into the Inter-Zone round of the Pepsi/Sports Plus daCosta Cup schoolboy football competition yesterday after scoring an emphatic but hard earned 4-2 win over Herbert Morrison Technical in a Zone A game played in Montego Bay.
Three red cards were issued by referee Cliffrence Daley, two to Herbert Morrison as Cornwall's Andrew Walker scored twice to lead his team to zone honours after Anchovy upset William Knibb 3-2.
Herbert Morrison's captain Navardo Fisher went from hero to zero after scoring two goals in a rousing come back but was sent off late in the game for fighting with Cornwall's second half substitute Troyan Spence who was also expelled. Earlier Dwayne Anderson's rash elbow on Andre Lee saw him being sent off and Cornwall's scoring from the resulting free kick to go 2-0 up.
National player Dane Richards and Rashford Rose got Cornwall's other goals as they extended their unbeaten streak against Herbert Morrison to nine years. Cornwall ended their fixtures on 15 points, two more than Herbert Morrison while William Knibb is on 11 with a game in hand against arch rivals Muschett Comprehensive.
Mannings secured their place from Zone C after a 9-2 hammering of Lewisville as three players Donovan Campbell, Jaime Samuels and Draion McNain all got two goals each; Cedric Titus confirmed what was a mere formality with a 1-0 win over Ferncourt in Zone D while former champions Munro drew 0-0 with St Elizabeth Technical to secure the second berth from Zone E.
Spalding beat Alston 4-1 to join Holmwood Technical from Zone G as 19 of the 24 places have now been confirmed for the next round that is set to start on Saturday.
At Herbert Morrison, the champions saved their best performance for the last ditch effort as they needed to win to advance to the Inter-Zone round.
Both teams stepped up their play to produce the best game of the zone so far and a late rush led by Herbert Morrison's captain Navardo Fisher nearly gave them the point they needed to end their Inter-Zone drought.
Walker, who was left unmarked just inside the penalty area on the left side, gave Cornwall the lead after 28 minutes with a well-placed header after Dane Richards picked him out with a cross from the right side.
Goalkeeper Tedroy Watson pulled off a brilliant save late in the first half to secure his team's lead. After rushing out of the goal and was beaten by the skilful Jeremy Bucknor, Watson recovered brilliantly to block Decalva Brown who had a clear shot at goal.
A free kick which resulted from Anderson's foul on Lee on the edge of the box, taken low and hard by Kirkland Smith was deflected into the goal by Walker in the 51st minute while Richards made it 3-0 with a penalty in the 64th.
Fisher grabbed two goals in a four minute period however as his team stormed back seeking the all-important equaliser, shutting up the large Cornwall support.
Cornwall put the game out of reach two minutes before the end when the Herbert Morrison defence failed to clear a ball out of their area and Rose managed to get a boot to it as it ballooned over the goalkeeper's head and into the back of the net.
The game was held up for a few minutes after crowds spilled unto the field after Fisher and Spence started fighting.
TODAY'S GAME
Zone H-Knox vs Garvey
Zone J-Dinthill vs Charlemont
Tacius Golding vs Glengoffe
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Zone A - Herbert Morrison 2 Cornwall 4, Anchovy 3 William Knibb 2
Zone B - Merlene Ottey 5 Grange Hill 2
Zone C - Little London 0 Knockalva 0, Mannings 9 Lewisville 2
Zone D - Ferncourt 0 Cedric Titus 1, Ocho Rios 5 Aabuthnott Gallimore 1
Zone E - Lacovia vs Balaclava- rain, Munro 0 STETHS 0
Zone F - Denbigh 8 Porus 2, Winston Jones 1 Manchester 6
Zone G - Alston 1 Spalding 4
Zone H - Garvey Maceo 2 Claude McKay 0
Zone I - Bustamante vs Lennon, Old Harbour 3 Kemps Hill 1
Zone K - Titchfield 8 Brimmervale 1
Zone L -St Thomas Technical 0 Seaforth 3
