Late goals send KC, JC into Walker Cup final

KINGSTON College (KC) and Jamaica College (JC) will contest the Walker Cup final after beating Excelsior High and Mona High, respectively, at Stadium East yesterday. Both games were rescheduled after heavy rain interrupted play on Friday. KC defeated Excelsior 2-1 while JC beat Mona 4-3 on penalties, after the teams battled to an exciting 3-3 draw in normal time. KC, trailing 0-1 from the 65th minute when their game was postponed on Friday, needed just 25 minutes to turn the score around. Known for their never-saydie attitude, KC responded in style, scoring twice in the 83rd and 88th minutes. Zaire Douse fired home from 25 metres, sending the ball past goalkeeper Jamari Gordon to pull KC level. With a penalty shoot-out looming, striker Deshawn Byfield latched on to a cross — following a well-worked move — and tapped home from close range for a dramatic win. Aldrano Walters had given Excelsior the lead in firsthalf stoppage time, bundling home from a corner in the 45+2 minute before the game was interrupted by rain and abandoned in the 65th minute on Friday. It was a good win for KC, who knew what they had to do and came out aggressively to earn their place in the final. The second semi-final was just as dramatic, after JC raced into a two-goal lead through early strikes by Jamone Lyles and Jermaine Morgan in the fifth and ninth minutes, respectively. Sean Leighton pulled one back for Mona in the 13th minute before Skylar McFarlane levelled the score in the 62nd minute, following a good build-up. Mona were the better team and looked the more likely to snatch victory. They thought they had done just that when Judah Edmonds-Hall scored from close range in the 90+2 minute. However, Demario Stone had other ideas, equalising for JC in the 90+5 minute to send the game into a penalty shoot-out. Lyle, Duwayne Burgher, Delajahe McCormack and Jaquan Brown scored for JC, while Sean Leighton missed Mona’s first penalty and Franklyn Mitcham missed their fifth to hand JC victory. Nathaniel McCarthy, Jermaine Morgan and Damario Brown scored for Mona. KC and JC will meet in the Walker Cup final on Friday.