Bridgeport High's Rushane Amos getting away from Holy Trinity's Adrian Davis in an early season match at Ferdie Neita Park. Bridgeport won 5-0. - Anthony Minott/Freelance Photographer

With several of last season's top players no longer eligible to play, this year's ISSA/Pepsi/Digicel Manning Cup promised to be one of the most competitive and wide open to date. Although it may be early days yet it seems fair to say it has lived up to the billing.

However, having slammed in an impressive 31 goals to date and conceding only one, the Anthony Patrick-coached Bridgeport High have made a real statement of intent, and they have picked up the mantle of early-season favourites.

Having lost the services of influential midfielder Andre Steele, very few would have thought that the St Catherine team, although loaded with talent, would have been doing so well at this stage. Of course, the team owes a great deal to forward Darren Mattocks, who has been a man in good form early on, firing in 15 goals so far. With only three games remaining, the former champions need only a point to advance from Group E. There is a heated battle on for second place among Tivoli, St Catherine and newcomers St Andrew College. St Andrew have given a good account of themselves to date, even managing to stun perennial contenders Tivoli.

Potential contenders for the title, Waterford and Jamaica College, are locked in a battle for Group A honours. Led by midfield general Ashani Walker the dark blues, having showed lethal scoring prowess with 36 goals so far, will be as dangerous as any in the next round.

George's holding their own

Defending champions St George's, who lost a lot of firepower following the departure of forwards Kemal Malcolm, the league's leading scorer last year, and Shammar Shelton, have shown that they are still more than capable of holding their own. The light blues are favoured to easily advance to the second round, tucked in comfortably behind Eltham High who, although being a bit inexperienced this season, have consistently proven their pedigree. St George's are currently in second place in Group F, but with a couple of games in hand.

Walker Cup champions Excel-sior High, one of the more experienced teams in this year's competition, having retained the dangerous pair of Juvanne Benjamin and Neco Brett, are, as expected, in command of Group C. The Mountain View Avenue-based school is, however, being closely tracked by Calabar, who will still remember the 4-1 defeat handed to them in the Walker Cup final last season.

Having proven themselves to be a resilient and consistent team for at least the past four years, St Andrew Technical have taken control of Group D. However, in a close battle for second place, Wolmer's, who are proving to be competitive despite the loss of influential midfielders Ashani Fairclough and Akeem Brown, are in a battle royal with Camperdown for the final spot.

better prepared

After being eliminated in the second round last season, Norman Manley's coach Miguel Coley promised his young team would be better prepared the next time around. To date, a more experienced Norman Manley seems to have delivered on that promise and are runaway leaders in Group B. However, while many would have expected Kingston College, who seemed to have been resurgent over the last couple of seasons, to advance comfortably, St Jago seem determined to crash the North Street team's party.