Junior Dowie - Calabar's Avon Wright shields the ball ahead of Donald Quarrie's Alwayne Dixon, while his teammates Aljay Cole (left) and Derrick Wilson look on during the ISSA/Pepsi/ Digicel Manning Cup match at Breezy Castle yesterday. Calabar won 5-0.

Robert Bailey, Star Writer

St George's College, led by a hat-trick from Kemar Cummings, registered an exciting 5-3 come-from-behind victory over hosts Ardenne High in the ISSA/Pepsi/-Digcel Manning Cup competition yesterday.

In the day's other games, Calabar defeated Donald Quarrie 5-0, Excelsior thrashed Dunoon Technical 6-0, Norman Manley whipped Tarrant 3-0, Waterford edged Ascot 1-0, Camperdown outscored Greater Portmore 3-2 and Spanish Town beat Campion College 2-1.

Cummings, who scored his goals in the 12th, 75th and 80th minutes received good support from teammate Kamal Malcolm, who netted a double in the (59th and 71st). Rhon-Paul Soltauo (fourth), Akeem Brooks (43rd) and Odane Griffiths (58th) were the goal scorers for Ardenne.

hard-fought victory

Marcel Gayle, assistant coach of St George's College, said it was a hard-fought victory for his team.

"It was a tough game and a very ugly one, but we played hard and came out on top," said Gayle.

"We didn't panic after trailing 3-1 because we have been conceding early goals and we have been working on this at training and it paid off for us," Gayle added.

Francis Murray, coach of Ardenne, said: "I think we lost our composure after we went 3-1 up after the first period ... and St George's took advantage of the situation," said Murray.

"However, I think it was a very good game. I believe that some good goals were scored by two quality teams," Murray added.

AT BREEZY CASTLE: A furious first-half spell by Walker Cup champions Calabar pushed them to a 5-0 victory over Donald Quarrie in Group B.

The win was the third in a row for the Red Hills-based schoolboys, who have now scored an impressive 16 goals in three games to accumulate nine points.

However, with a game in hand, they trail Waterford, who lead the group with 10. Despite the home team getting off to a promising start, Calabar took the lead as early as the third minute when Aljay Cole sprinted on to a ball lobbed over the Donald Quarrie backline and fired past goalkeeper Shamar Coley, who opted to remain glued to his line.

easy tap-in

The home team found themselves stretched as soon as six minutes later, when Avon Wright broke away down the right flank before setting up his teammate André Braithwaite for an easy tap-in. Things would get worse for the home team when defender André Dixon turned in a shot fired by Calabar's Richard Edite into his own net, in the 13th minute.

Ricardo Lattibeaudiere made the score 4-0 with a 23rd-minute strike and Kabari Palmer's long range goal at the 43rd minute made it seem as if Donald Quarrie were in store for a long evening.

However, a spirited second-half performance by the home team saw them hold the visitors scoreless for the period.

Alrick Clarke, the coach of Calabar, thought the game was a stroll in the park for his team but was a little disappointed with the second-half showing.

"I think the guys were out there fooling around in the second half and that was a little disappointing," he said.

"However, it was an easy game. We scored our goals early, so it was difficult to keep them motivated."