On Wednesday November 27th Quest Prep, the defending champions in the JISA Prep School Alberga Cup squeezed into the finals of the Henriques Cup when they narrowly got past Mona Prep in the semi-finals at the UWI Bowl.
On Wednesday November 27th Quest Prep, the defending champions in the JISA Prep School Alberga Cup squeezed into the finals of the Henriques Cup when they narrowly got past Mona Prep in the semi-finals at the UWI Bowl.
An intense semifinal that produced very little goal scoring opportunities was settled by Quest captain and leading goal scorer Michael Allen, when he benefitted from an error in the Mona defence to pounce on a loose ball and round the keeper before slotting home in the 16th minute.
Before the goal there was very little to cheer about, but Allen’s effort sparked the game to life and four minutes later Matthew Bell turned on a dime to fired goal wards but the ball went just wide.
In the 23rd minute, Bell had another shot which was saved by Blaine Bryan in the Quest goal, the rebound fell kindly to Duncan McKenzie whose follow up shot hit the crossbar and rebounded into play while a mass of Mona spectators appealed for a goal.
The second half proved to be a real battle between two teams that refused to give an inch.
Jared McDonald, who had a good game down the right side stung the palms of Bryan who could only push the fierce drive for a corner.
Dante Jackson also had a chance but Bryan was quick to close the space and parry the effort wide which was pounced upon by McKenzie who saw his shot blocked as the defenders cleared the danger.
Mona kept piling on the pressure in the search for an equalizer but the Quest defence did their best to thwart their opponents efforts.
Allen who was playing just about every position for Quest played a huge role both in defence and attack as he tried to put the game out of the reach of Mona.
His last shot was a low drive but straight to the keeper and it would prove to be the last meaningful attack for the day.
The final whistle was greeted with huge cheers by the Quest supporters but tears flowed freely on the Mona side, especially from McKenzie who was convinced that his shot in the first half had crossed the line.
Errol White, coach of Quest said “It was a good team effort, the boys have played four games in seven days. The captain (Michael Allen) got the goal for us and carried the team on his back. So I am totally pleased. I couldn’t ask for more. We played this team before in the Alberga Cup and it ended 1-0 so we expected it to be tough.”
The final will be played on Friday November 29th at the UWI Bowl at 3:30pm.
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