Latest News
Cornwall seek lift from tournament success
August 18, 2025
Cornwall College hope that preseason success will inspire their title challenge for the daCosta Cup football competition.
A bicycle-kick goal from Nickane Brown in the dying moments of the final created a dramatic end as Cornwall College clipped Frome Technical High 2-1, as they were crowned the first champions of the inaugural Montego Bay United FC (MBU) Invitational high schools football competition.
Winning coach, Hector Wright, said this highlights the significance of preseason competitions for the team's readiness.
"I always look forward to another competition like what we had last year. This is really good, especially for preseason ... it can be a part of their preparation going into the season," Wright told STAR Sports.
As for winning, Wright said it is always a good feeling.
"The work we have been putting in from the start of our preseason has been tough. The players were complaining but they are seeing the results now. We started early, so hopefully we can use this as a stepping stone going into the daCosta Cup season," he added.
The preseason tournament, held at the Montego Bay Sports Complex, ended at 10 p.m. on Saturday, and featured energetic patrons cheering on the teams they came to support.
In the semi-finals, Zone 1 winners Cornwall cruised into the final with a 2-0 victory over Irwin High, while Zone 2 winners Frome defeated Maldon High 1-0.
Moments after kickoff in the 40-minute game, Cornwall took the lead with a brilliant strike courtesy of Carlando Morris in the third minute. A few minutes later, Frome rallied to equalise when Wayne Mullings levelled in the sixth minute.
Conceding a goal did not sit well with Cornwall and they came hunting in the second half. They fought hard and began to dominate the proceedings, and eventually their efforts paid off minutes before the end when they got a corker and Brown executed the spectacular overhead effort to seal the deal.
Cornwall College's captain, Deshaun Talbert, says winning the tournament is a promising start.
"Winning is always a great feeling, especially from our home-town. First, we have to learn how to lose because from preseason I have been losing a lot. We didn't want to lose in our community, so we went out there and put our best forward to come out victorious," said Talbert.
Despite losing, Cleighton Stephens, coach of Frome, said he saw more positives than negatives.
"I see where my team came out and they showed character today. We really needed the million dollars but that's how football is at times. Overall, it was a good preseason tournament," said Stephens.
"We fought until the last minute, but you know some mistakes were made and because of that we paid for it.
"Congratulations to Cornwall and good try Frome," he added.
The winning team pocketed a $1,000,000 cheque. Six schools - Cornwall College, Irwin High, Herbert Morrison Technical High, Frome Technical High, Maldon High and St James High competed in the inaugural invitational.
