Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

Hosts St. George's College won the Roper Cup for the first time since 2002 when they defeated North Street rivals Kingston College (KC) 3-2 on aggregate at Emmet Park on Saturday.

In the two matches to decide the title, the teams first played to a 1-1 draw in the Under-35 match before St. George's College clipped KC 2-1 in the clash of Manning Cup teams. KC dominated the first half of the Manning Cup game but squandered a number of clear chances.

They then found themselves trailing on the stroke of half time when John Mere Holloway struck a beautiful right-footed shot from just inside six-yard box past goalkeeper Shane Earlington.

The rain

Playing in heavy rain after the half-time break, KC found the equaliser in the 61st minute when McCauly Tulloch slotted home from close range.

The rest of the second period was keenly contested with both teams missing clear chances. But St. George's were not to be denied, as in the 71st minute Kemar Malcolm took advantage of a rebound to calmly place the ball in the back of the net to give St. George's a deserving 2-1 victory.

Everald Campbell, coach of St. George's College, was delighted with his team's victory. "The game was a very good one, it could have gone either way," he added.

"But my team showed guts and character today and I am very happy for that. I think we need to tighten up on our back line because we have been giving up goals in our practice matches," he said.

Good play

Coach of KC Wayne Fairclough said: "I think we had a lot more possession of the ball, but St. George's played well enough to win.

"We squandered a lot of chances but as the saying goes, the team that scores the goals will win and they did just that," Fairclough said.

Earlier, in the five-match football classic, KC won the opening Under-14 game 3-0. The teams went on to draw their Under-16 contest 0-0.

In the third game KC's Over-35's defeated their opponents 1-0.