Wolmer’s repeat as Walker Cup champions

It took Wolmer’s Boys 36 years between title one and title two and they showed that it was no fluke. They were able to defend their title in the ISSA/LIME Walker Cup competition at the Constant Spring Field yesterda,y to claim title number three and their first piece of silverware for the season.

It took Wolmer’s Boys 36 years between title one and title two and they showed that it was no fluke. They were able to defend their title in the ISSA/LIME Walker Cup competition at the Constant Spring Field yesterda,y to claim title number three and their first piece of silverware for the season.

Shrugging off the massive disappointment of losing out to Jamaica College in the Manning Cup final, the boys clad in maroon and gold showed the early initiative against their opponents Excelsior who surprisingly started with the main player, Kareem Banton who was left on the bench by coach Leebert Halliman.

The game itself lacked spark at the beginning in a stadium that lacked atmosphere and this seemed to affect the tempo of the game. The match rusty Excelsior team was forced to defend early on as Wolmers took control of the game through their captain Kemo Wallace, Jason Greenland and Demar Rose in midfield.

Despite their early dominance Wolmer’s created very little in front of goal while at the other end Dane Lee in the Wolmer’s goal was a mere spectator as the Excelsior attack clearly missed the presence of Banton.

The first time Lee had something to do was when he easily caught a cross from Christopher Thorpe from a right sided cross midway the first half.

Wolmer’s who were attacking mainly down the right side started to build up a head of steam and had a good combination play between Kamario Osbourne and Hakeem Smith which yielded a corner kick. Samuel Halliman did well to clear the ball off the line with the keeper well beaten when Andre Wilson fired towards goal after the corner kick fell kindly to him.

The Ludlow Bernard coached boys were controlling the midfield and winning a number of corners to which Halliman countered by introducing Banton in the 36th minute.

Three minutes later Jonah Morgan in the Excelsior goal was picking the ball out of his net after Osbourne beat the offside trap and lobbed Morgan to make it 1-0 to the defending champions. This lifted the atmosphere inside the stadium as the jaded Wolmer’s spectators hoped their team would hold the lead and win this one comfortably. 

The 1-0 lead at half time would have been a source of comfort for them after the past two weekends of extra time football.

The second half would prove to be the mirror image of the first, but it was Excelsior’s turn to dominate proceedings as the wily Banton led the attack for his school. Colorado Murray picked up his game and along with Kurtis Christie and Banton provided more support for Romaine Hoosang and Tevin Jackson up front.

At the hour mark Murray produced a smart free kick, delivered with precision and pace into ‘no man’s land’ inside the penalty area. As both sets of players challenged for the ball Lee came and punched taking out his teammate Chavez Brooks in the process.

The atmosphere inside the stadium was also a different one with the arrival of the Excelsior students at half time who brought their horns and pot covers had increased the volume significantly.

Damani Morais, as he has done all season for Excelsior, came off the bench to add spark and speed down the right flank and the crowd warmed to his presence when he was introduced.

The Excelsior team was playing with a lot more energy and purpose than in the first half, winning the fifty-fifty balls and pushing the pace of the game.

Excelsior won a free kick just on top of the box down the left side and up stepped Colorado Murray to curl a spectacular effort to the far corner leaving a flat footed Lee to stand and stare in the Wolmer’s goal.  The equalizer was greeted with loud cheers by the excited Excelsior spectators who had been smelling blood based on their team’s dominance up to that point.

Four minutes from full time Hoosang performed a juggling act to get the ball under control before firing just over the top and the next minute Banton laid back the ball for the marauding Murray whose effort flashed past the left upright. Murray would have one last effort, when his last minute free kick went inches over the crossbar to the relief of Lee who dared not be beaten again with no time left on the clock.

The 1-1 fulltime score meant that Wolmer’s would be playing an extra time game for the third time in a row. They were the ones to create the two chances in this period. First in the 95th minute when second half substitute Jordan James fed the largely ineffective Jahiel Hyde down the left channel before sprinting into the box for the return pass. His side footed effort was brilliantly blocked by Morgan to keep the scores level.

Two minutes later, Hyde saw his free kick punched away by Morgan as it seemed that the Wolmer’s leading goal scorer had finally awoken.

Demar Rose played in Hyde shortly after and after letting the ball run to get beyond his marker the forward trod on the ball and Excelsior was allowed to recover and clear the danger.

The last chance of the game fell to Rose when Excelsior failed the clear their lines and the ball fell perfectly at his feet. He was only able to shoot directly at Morgan who gratefully caught the ball to the relief of everyone wearing green and gold inside the stadium.

The dreaded penalty kicks saw the defending champs hold their nerves.  

Banton, who was the first to kick, along with Morais scored for Excelsior while Rose and Hyde did likewise for Wolmer’s. But with the scores level at 2-2 Christie saw his effort saved by Lee after which Brooks converted for Wolmer’s. The onus was now on Samuel Halliman, who had had a less than stellar game, to keep his team in the hunt. His tame effort was easily saved by Lee and a cool Osbourne who had given his team the first half lead, stepped up to put away his effort and return the Walker Cup trophy to Heroes Circle, much to the delight of the fans which included Douglas Orane of Grace Kennedy and Garfield Sinclair of LIME.

Winning coach Ludlow Bernard says he was always confident of winning the shootout “My players battled hard. They were determined not to leave empty handed. In extra time it was clear that Excelsior were playing for penalties but  I was very confident we would win because I know we had five sure takers.

“To get to two finals in one season shows that the program is growing and to repeat as champions is a very good achievement,” he concluded.

Excelsior coach Leebert Halliman was gracious in defeat blaming a lack of experience and not faulting any of his players for the loss.

Photo: Kamario Osbourne runs past the Excelsior goal after getting the opening goal of the contest