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November 10, 2011
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Star Sport |
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Now or never... Calabar, George's gear up to battle for Manning Cup semi-final spot |
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Ryon Jones, Star Writer
An epic battle is expected in the final round of matches in Group H of the ISSA/Gatorade/ Digicel Manning Cup competition, when two teams who share 21 titles between them, plenty history and perhaps a bit of bad blood meet with a place in the semi-final up for grabs. Nineteen-time champions St George's, who are seeking the urban area senior schoolboy football double, having already booked a place in the Walker Cup knockout final, could see their 11-game unbeaten run in the Manning Cup amount to nothing if they fail to avoid defeat against three-time champions Calabar, when the two meet tomorrow at the Constant Spring field at 3 p.m. With only the winners of the four groups progressing to the semi-final, George's have a slight edge as though they, along with Calabar, have amassed six points, they have a plus six goal difference to their opponents' plus five. The game will be preceded by an encounter of little significance between Penwood and Camperdown at 1 p.m.
George's place in the Walker Cup final was secured after registering a crushing 5-0 defeat over Calabar in the semi-final, but the Light Blues' head coach, Neville 'Bertis' Bell, believes that match will have no bearing on tomorrow's game.
"We have forgotten that (Walker Cup win), we were very, very pleased with that victory; we are very happy that it got us into the Walker Cup final, but we know that this is going to be different day," Bell said.
"They were not at full strength that day and they also went down to 10 men very early in the game, which I am sure had a lot to do with the 5-0 victory," he added.
George's will be led by top marksman Kendon Anderson, who has netted 20 goals in all competitions to date, including a hat-trick in the win over Calabar. He will have more than ample support, as George's boast five national under-17 players.
"They (Calabar) are a very good team, they have very good players, they have an experienced coach and they play very good football," Bell said.
Calabar's coach Marvin Tate has no plans to allow George's such fortune again, as he and his green and black army are hungry for glory and to avenge their only loss of the season.
"The players basically just want to win, because they want to present the school with the gift for centenary celebrations," Tate said.
"We want to avenge the loss, but the main focus is just to win the Manning Cup.
"It is more like a final. We realise that any team that wins this game there is a possibility they are the team that will be winning the Manning Cup," he added.
Tate will for the first time in weeks have his full squad at his disposal, as leading scorer Kyle Scott (13) has recovered from a broken metatarsal and will be a force to be reckoned with, in tandem with Chevonne 'Messi' Marsh.
Pld WLDGFGAGDPts St George's 2 2 0 0 6 0 6 6
Calabar 2 2 0 0 6 1 5 6
Camperdown 2 0 2 0 1 4 -3 0
Penwood 2 0 2 0 0 8 -8 0 |
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