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Francis KO title on line
Francis KO title on line
... Rusea’s, Garvey Maceo square-off at Jarret Park
BY PAUL A REID Observer Writer
reidp@jamaicaobserver.com
MONTEGO BAY, St James — The first rural area schoolboy football title will be decided today when four-time champions Rusea’s High and Garvey Maceo clash in the Ben Francis KO final at Jarrett Park at 3:00 pm.
The game should have been played last Saturday, but had to be pushed back as it took four attempts to get the semifinal between Garvey Maceo and Dinthill out of the way. That match, which was called off three times due to waterlogged fields and lightning resulting from the inclement weather, was played on Monday.
Garvey Maceo earned their place in the final with a 4-2 win to join Rusea’s, who edged Grange Hill 1-0 last Thursday in the other semifinal.
Meanwhile, with the delay in the Ben Francis KO, the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA), has pushed back the start of the Inter-Zone round of the daCosta Cup which was slated to start today. The first round will now be played at the end of the round on November 17.
For today’s game, both coaches acknowledged that Rusea’s would have an advantage playing at Jarrett Park.
Anthony ‘Follies’ Williams, a member of the Rusea’s coaching staff, admitted that playing in Montego Bay will give his team a leg-up on the Clarendon school.
“Yes, it is an advantage and we can’t beat around the bush and try to avoid the truth,” he said.
“Once you’re playing so close to home you will have an advantage. If this game was being played at Brancourt, or closer to Garvey Maceo, they would have the edge.”
Williams, who was coach in 2002 when Rusea’s won their last of eight daCosta Cup titles, added however, that “the advantage is not on the field but in the crowd support. I think the Rusea’s support will be bigger, but this could be the same if we played anywhere.”
Garvey Maceo’s coach, Jeffrey Hewitt, conceded the crowd, or “the 12th man... is always important and the crowd will definitely be a Rusea’s one, but we’re not going there to watch the crowd but to play some football.”
Garvey Maceo, whose best result was making the semifinal of the daCosta Cup some five years ago, have quietly established themselves as one of the best teams in schoolboy football this season.
Despite Hewitt’s best attempts to keep the favourites tags from his team, a win and a draw against defending champions and pre-season favourites Glenmuir opened some eyes.
Hewitt told the Observer yesterday his team was “upbeat and focused on the game, confident in their ability to do well”.
The team, he said, would be travelling to Montego Bay yesterday, and as far as the game was concerned, “We’re not taking anything for granted... we’re just going into the game in a positive frame of mind.”
Hewitt said he was expecting a “very good game” against Rusea’s.
Williams agreed that the game should be exciting while giving credit to Garvey Maceo for making it this far.
Andre Atkinson, whose lone goal last Thursday sent Rusea’s to the final, Roydel Moncrieff, Horace Maxwell and the overlapping Garfield Duncan will lead the attack for the Hanover school against a Garvey Maceo defence that has given up as many goals — five — in the Ben Francis as they have conceded in 10 games in the first round of the daCosta Cup.
On the other hand, Rusea’s have been sound defensively and have not conceded a goal in two Ben Francis Cup games so far after giving up just two all season in Zone B of the daCosta Cup.
National Junior representative, Damaine Thompson, leads the Rusea’s defence, but they will come up against the most potent team in schoolboy football this season in Garvey, who have scored 52 goals in both competitions.
The prolific Ashton Bennett, who scored nearly 40 goals last season and is well over 20 so far this season, including two against Dinthill on Monday, could be a handful for the Rusea’s team.
... Rusea’s, Garvey Maceo square-off at Jarret Park
BY PAUL A REID Observer Writer
reidp@jamaicaobserver.com
MONTEGO BAY, St James — The first rural area schoolboy football title will be decided today when four-time champions Rusea’s High and Garvey Maceo clash in the Ben Francis KO final at Jarrett Park at 3:00 pm.
The game should have been played last Saturday, but had to be pushed back as it took four attempts to get the semifinal between Garvey Maceo and Dinthill out of the way. That match, which was called off three times due to waterlogged fields and lightning resulting from the inclement weather, was played on Monday.
Garvey Maceo earned their place in the final with a 4-2 win to join Rusea’s, who edged Grange Hill 1-0 last Thursday in the other semifinal.
Meanwhile, with the delay in the Ben Francis KO, the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA), has pushed back the start of the Inter-Zone round of the daCosta Cup which was slated to start today. The first round will now be played at the end of the round on November 17.
For today’s game, both coaches acknowledged that Rusea’s would have an advantage playing at Jarrett Park.
Anthony ‘Follies’ Williams, a member of the Rusea’s coaching staff, admitted that playing in Montego Bay will give his team a leg-up on the Clarendon school.
“Yes, it is an advantage and we can’t beat around the bush and try to avoid the truth,” he said.
“Once you’re playing so close to home you will have an advantage. If this game was being played at Brancourt, or closer to Garvey Maceo, they would have the edge.”
Williams, who was coach in 2002 when Rusea’s won their last of eight daCosta Cup titles, added however, that “the advantage is not on the field but in the crowd support. I think the Rusea’s support will be bigger, but this could be the same if we played anywhere.”
Garvey Maceo’s coach, Jeffrey Hewitt, conceded the crowd, or “the 12th man... is always important and the crowd will definitely be a Rusea’s one, but we’re not going there to watch the crowd but to play some football.”
Garvey Maceo, whose best result was making the semifinal of the daCosta Cup some five years ago, have quietly established themselves as one of the best teams in schoolboy football this season.
Despite Hewitt’s best attempts to keep the favourites tags from his team, a win and a draw against defending champions and pre-season favourites Glenmuir opened some eyes.
Hewitt told the Observer yesterday his team was “upbeat and focused on the game, confident in their ability to do well”.
The team, he said, would be travelling to Montego Bay yesterday, and as far as the game was concerned, “We’re not taking anything for granted... we’re just going into the game in a positive frame of mind.”
Hewitt said he was expecting a “very good game” against Rusea’s.
Williams agreed that the game should be exciting while giving credit to Garvey Maceo for making it this far.
Andre Atkinson, whose lone goal last Thursday sent Rusea’s to the final, Roydel Moncrieff, Horace Maxwell and the overlapping Garfield Duncan will lead the attack for the Hanover school against a Garvey Maceo defence that has given up as many goals — five — in the Ben Francis as they have conceded in 10 games in the first round of the daCosta Cup.
On the other hand, Rusea’s have been sound defensively and have not conceded a goal in two Ben Francis Cup games so far after giving up just two all season in Zone B of the daCosta Cup.
National Junior representative, Damaine Thompson, leads the Rusea’s defence, but they will come up against the most potent team in schoolboy football this season in Garvey, who have scored 52 goals in both competitions.
The prolific Ashton Bennett, who scored nearly 40 goals last season and is well over 20 so far this season, including two against Dinthill on Monday, could be a handful for the Rusea’s team.