Kingston College (KC) has grabbed pole position in Zone A of the ISSA Digicel Manning Cup following their crushing 5-0 win over Tivoli Gardens High as the quarterfinal kicked off on Friday at the Stadium East.

In the first Zone A match at the same venue, Mona High and Jamaica College battled to a 1-1 draw while in Zone B, St Catherine High blanked Campion College 2-0 at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.

The other Zone B match between Excelsior High and Hydel High, which was scheduled for the Ashenheim Stadium, was postponed for today at the Stadium East.

KC with their three points and a massive goal difference jumped to the top of Zone A ahead of both Mona and JC on a point each. Tivoli Gardens are at the bottom of the four-team group without a point.

The wily Damaine Smith scored a double for KC netting in the third minute and 19^th minutes before Matrim Martin made it 3-0 in minute 32. Kamaul Patterson made the game safe on the stroke of halftime in the 45+3 minute. KC’s top scorer Deshawn Byfield had to get in on the act putting the icing on the cake in the 51^st minute with his 23^rd goal of the season. It has been a remarkable season for KC as they continued their free-flowing style and are the most prolific team in the Manning Cup with 85 goals from 14 games.

KC’s head coach Vassell Reynolds was pleased with his team’s all-round performance. “We are really happy we got three points today and once we got three points, it put us in good stead down to the last game. I thought the boys responded well so overall I am pretty satisfied with the performance,” he noted.

 Tivoli Gardens assistant coach Lance daCosta, said his team was probably TV-shy.

“We struggled with defensive errors. We should be more mature and focused. It’s like a mental problem at this stage of the competition,” said daCosta. “We just have to boost them up to come again, we just have to win those two games and we can make the semifinal.”

Meanwhile defending champions Mona were held to a 1-1 draw following a controversial penalty call in JC’s favour. Seal Leighton had given Mona High a 35th-minute lead firing home from just inside the box, But Dyllan John earned a share of the points for JC from the penalty spot in minute 65.

Mona’s technical director Craig Butler never minced his words about the refereeing.

“I think the boys performed well under the circumstances. A lot needs to be said about honour and fairness in a game. That penalty was totally unfair,” said Butler. “The team played very well, we fought well that was no penalty and I think the indication from the linesman was wrong.”

JC’s technical director, Davion Ferguson, refused to get into the penalty debate.

“I don’t want to comment on the referees, they are in charge,” he stated. “We don’t have any control over that, we have to control what we can do.  But Mona High is a quality team and in the first half they really pushed us and they played well, but we made some adjustments in the second half.”