The members of the Old Harbour High team which defeated Spaldings High in yesterday's TVJ Schools' Challenge Quiz match were speechless and emotional after their close win.

The team members who seemed as if they were unable to clearly establish themselves in the match broke down in tears after seeing the scoreline which helped them secure a place in the second round.

Even Denzil Stewart, the team's coach could hardly find words to describe his teams performance in the match. "We have over prepared for this match ... we missed some easy questions," he said.

He said that the team needs to "realise that in every match they can lose. Every team comes here to win."

From section one of the match, Spalding made clear its intention to win the match. Old Harbour scored seven points while Spaldings were close behind on six points when the segment ended.

Old Harbour missed one clear opportunity to gain a point when they incorrectly identified a picture of Hyacinth Bennett as Louise Bennett. Spaldings missed one opportunity by incorrectly identifying James Blunt in an audio question as James Blight.

As the teams moved in section two of the match, Old Harbour just couldn't seem to find their groove, while Spaldings continued to keep pace with them.

In the second minute, the close contest would continue with Old Harbour moving to 18 points while Spaldings increased its score to 14 points. At the end of the third minute, Old Harbour rounded off its score to 22 points while Spaldings High maintained its close pace with 19 points.

Section three of the match was clearly going to be the deciding segment. Spaldings 'buzzed' twice to get two questions correct and increased their score to 23 points. But the team 'buzzed' no more and Old Harbour seized the opportunity.

In gaining a narrow win, Old Harbour secured 26 points, only three more than their opponents.

Janet Coley-Simpson, coach of the Spaldings team, said she was proud of her teams performance and said they represented their school well. But they are hoping to do better next year. "We will expand our literature base and study more," she said.

Members of the Spaldings team are Andrew Edwards, Sean Compass, Exford Davy and Nikhail Batiste (captain).

Members of the Old Harbour team are Romerio Levy (captain), Aneita Beckford, Mesha Hayden and Robert Williams.

Next match : Brimmervale High versus Knockalva Technical high