LeVaughn Flynn, Staff Reporter

Wolmer's Ivo East (right) dribbles away from Munro's Brandon Patterson during the final of the ISSA/Jamaica Hockey Federation Boys' Under-19 competition at the Mona Astro Turf yesterday. Munro won 1-0. - Photo by LeVaughn Flynn

THE SECRET to Munro College's success is simple.

"At the top of the list (to our success) is the fact that guys are really interested in the game," said Munro's coach, Fitzroy Rowe, on Friday afternoon after his team nipped Wolmer's Boys 1-0 for their third straight ISSA/Jamaica Hockey Federa-tion Under-19 title at the Mona Astro Turf.

"Also they are very dis-ciplined, so if they don't see me they'll come and find me for training," Rowe added. "So, with that attitude, there is not much to do as a coach but facilitate their growth."

Oshane Haseley scored the winner in the 45th minute with a powerful strike from a short corner. He was voted the most valuable player of the final and teammate Selvin Rose won the leading scorer award.

Nine Munro players have been selected to the national Under-21 squad, which began training yesterday, but Rowe pointed out that their selection poses the same problem each year.

Work on their own

"I'm concerned if they will be able to take up the offer because they live out of town (Kingston) and hockey is not a sport that receives a lot of sponsorship," Rowe said. "So, if they are not able to do a substantial amount of work on their own, they might not make it."

Notwithstanding, Rowe said that it was an honour the boys should try and fulfil.

"This is an opportunity for them to contribute to the nation in the area they have chosen," he stated.

Meanwhile, eight Wolmer's players were also selected to the Under-21 squad.

Wolmer's coach Norris Davis said his side faced a far more experienced opponent in the final.

"We lacked the experience and the expertise," stated Davis. "It was a reasonably good perfor-mance from the team, but it is disappointing not being cham-pions."

Other play-offs

Earlier, Papine beat Excelsior 3-2 on penalties in the third-place play-off.

Arnold Gentles, Geovanni Green and Mario Anderson scored for Papine, while Howard Robinson and Omari Anderson converted for Excelsior.

On Wednesday, St. Andrew High dethroned Papine High for the girls' title, which they had not won since the early 1990s.

Alpha won the girls' third-place play-off, beating Excelsior.

The Under-16 division is scheduled to start on March 31.