By Howard Walker, Staff ReporterDEFENDING CHAMPION Excelsior High will kick off the second round of the Pepsi/Sports Plus Manning Cup with a tricky game against Calabar, in the opening game of a Group One double header at the Ferdie Neita Park at 1:30 p.m.
In the feature encounter, Wolmer's High tackle Tivoli Gardens Comprehensive, while at Campion College, high-riding Camperdown take on the team with the meanest defence, St. Andrew Technical (STATHS) at 3:30 p.m. in the only Group Two game today.
Six-time champions Excelsior will start favourites against an inconsistent Calabar, who are searching for their first title in 27 years.
UNBEATEN TEAM
Excelsior, the only unbeaten team in the Manning Cup, underlined their favouritism status by flogging St. George's 3-0 in the Walker Cup on Saturday.
With a forward line of Ricardo Ximinez and Narado Brown, backed up by midfield general Anthony Christie and defender Robert Coley, the Leebert Haliman-coached Excelsior will be hard to deny.
However, the David Hunt-coached Calabar won't be pushovers as the 1943 and 1977 champions upset the highly-touted St. George's College 1-0 in their return fixture on October 5.
In the other Group One clash, both teams will know the result of the earlier group match and will want to secure maximum points.
The maroon and gold clad boys from Heroes Circle lost their unbeaten record 1-2 to Kingston College after qualifying easily, but bounced back to trample Group C winners Spanish Town 4-1 in Walker Cup action.
However, Tivoli, with the competition's leading goalscorer Jermaine Allen, the lanky Lance daCosta in midfield and the tricky Dwayne Reid, the son of former national player Roderick, Reid, will be hard to contain.
Tivoli scored 41 goals to be second only to St. Jago's 44, but they finished second in Group C to Spanish Town, who were later mauled by Wolmer's in the Walker Cup on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Vassell Reynolds-led Wolmer's will be confident after their beating of Spanish Town, and will rely on captain Jermaine Gardner, the little brother of national player Ricardo Gardner, Navion Boyd and Kenroy McKay, who played on the winning Excelsior team last year.
ONLY CONTEST
The only contest from Group Two sees Camperdown looking to stay on course for their first title since 1982.
Current coach Barrington Gaynor, a member of that victorious team, will try to break down the tightest defence in the competition. Orlando Ferguson will lead the charge and will have support from Ralston Beecher and Tristan Burgher.
STATHS, the 1987 winners, finished second to Excelsior in their group and will be hard to beat. But, they have been finding it hard to score goals and in this second round that could be crucial.
However, STATHS have history on their side as their winning side 17 years ago drew most of the matches in the first round before exploding in the second round on their way to a 6-1 thrashing of Excelsior in the finals.
