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Top four vie for place in final
BY PAUL A REID Observer writer
reidp@jamaicaobserver.com
MONTEGO BAY, St James — All four teams in today’s semifinals of the ISSA/Pepsi/Digicel daCosta Cup football competition are reporting they are in “high spirits” and looking forward to the games.
Defending champions Glenmuir High and 11-time champions Cornwall College will renew rivalry at Jarrett Park, while Ben Francis Knock Out champions Garvey Maceo and eight-time winners Rusea’s will lock horns at the STETHS Sports Complex in Santa Cruz.
Both games will start at 3:00 pm with the rules calling for extra time and penalties to be used in case of a tie after regulation, as a winner must be decided to advance to next Saturday’s final.
Cornwall College and Rusea’s topped their respective quarterfinal groups with wins on Wednesday over Fair Prospect High and Clarendon College respectively.
Glenmuir and Garvey Maceo, from Zone I in the first round, were runners-up after draws against Munro College and Manchester High. Glenmuir scored twice in the last 20 minutes to salvage a draw to force their way into the semi-finals.
The Jeffrey Hewitt-coached Garvey Maceo, the only one of the four never to have played in the daCosta Cup final, are in the semi-finals for only the second time and are hoping to create school history.
Hewitt, who told Sporting World yesterday he had some injury worries, said their twogame winning streak over the Hanover school, including a win in the Ben Francis final, would not mean much today.
“Our only edge will be psychological,” he said, “but that won’t mean much on the day as it will be the team that wants it more that will come out on top”.
While not admitting any concerns over their lack of scoring over the last two games, Hewitt pointed out that the team had been “creating chances, but just not putting them away”, adding that once they were creating the chances, the goals will come.
After running roughshod over teams all season, scoring 35 goals, Garvey Maceo’s top player, Ashton Bennett, has been quiet for the last two matches and no doubt the Rusea’s coaching staff will have plans for him today.
Anthony ‘Follies’ Williams said he too had some injury worries that could change his game plan somewhat, but said at this time of the year, players must step up.
The team has not trained since Wednesday’s come-frombehind win at STETHS, but he said it was no big deal. “This won't make any difference, we will have a light session this afternoon (Friday) just to keep the players focused.”
Williams said they have relished playing at STETHS this year, losing just once in five games there and have become accustomed to the grounds.
The Cornwall versus Glenmuir game will be a battle of wits between two coaches who are close friends and familiar with each other’s style of play.
Cornwall’s Dr Dean Weatherly and Glenmuir’s Jackie Walters are so much alike in their thinking that even yesterday’s responses eerily echoed each other.
Both coaches said they are expecting their teams to come out and play their best game of the year with the season on the line.
Glenmuir have the more experienced team with four players from the team that beat Cornwall twice in the 2005 season — captain James Thomas, Kashmar Briscoe, Jon-Ross Doyley and Trevol Smith.
Compared to this, Cornwall’s only hold over is Edward Campbell, who was coming off the bench then.
Walters said their win streak against the Cornwall team “could work both ways — it would make them complacent or more guarded”.
Personally, he said, his philosophy going into the game was for the team “to play their best game ever and let the chips fall where they may”.
Glenmuir are seeking their third final in four seasons and after missing out on the Ben Francis KO have only the daCosta Cup to play for.
Dr Weatherly agreed with Walters that their failures in 2005 have no bearing on today’s game, “that was then, this is now”, he said.
“On the day, it is how the teams perform,” Dr Weatherly pointed out, adding he was happy with how his team was “coming together well”.
Cornwall, who failed to get out of Zone A last season, have won four of their last six games, scoring 13 goals in the process and have been creating numerous chances.
Dr Weatherly will take comfort in the fact that while his top two scorers Campbell and Radcliff Hall have combined for just one goal in the quarterfinals, other players have popped up to produce the goods.
BY PAUL A REID Observer writer
reidp@jamaicaobserver.com
MONTEGO BAY, St James — All four teams in today’s semifinals of the ISSA/Pepsi/Digicel daCosta Cup football competition are reporting they are in “high spirits” and looking forward to the games.
Defending champions Glenmuir High and 11-time champions Cornwall College will renew rivalry at Jarrett Park, while Ben Francis Knock Out champions Garvey Maceo and eight-time winners Rusea’s will lock horns at the STETHS Sports Complex in Santa Cruz.
Both games will start at 3:00 pm with the rules calling for extra time and penalties to be used in case of a tie after regulation, as a winner must be decided to advance to next Saturday’s final.
Cornwall College and Rusea’s topped their respective quarterfinal groups with wins on Wednesday over Fair Prospect High and Clarendon College respectively.
Glenmuir and Garvey Maceo, from Zone I in the first round, were runners-up after draws against Munro College and Manchester High. Glenmuir scored twice in the last 20 minutes to salvage a draw to force their way into the semi-finals.
The Jeffrey Hewitt-coached Garvey Maceo, the only one of the four never to have played in the daCosta Cup final, are in the semi-finals for only the second time and are hoping to create school history.
Hewitt, who told Sporting World yesterday he had some injury worries, said their twogame winning streak over the Hanover school, including a win in the Ben Francis final, would not mean much today.
“Our only edge will be psychological,” he said, “but that won’t mean much on the day as it will be the team that wants it more that will come out on top”.
While not admitting any concerns over their lack of scoring over the last two games, Hewitt pointed out that the team had been “creating chances, but just not putting them away”, adding that once they were creating the chances, the goals will come.
After running roughshod over teams all season, scoring 35 goals, Garvey Maceo’s top player, Ashton Bennett, has been quiet for the last two matches and no doubt the Rusea’s coaching staff will have plans for him today.
Anthony ‘Follies’ Williams said he too had some injury worries that could change his game plan somewhat, but said at this time of the year, players must step up.
The team has not trained since Wednesday’s come-frombehind win at STETHS, but he said it was no big deal. “This won't make any difference, we will have a light session this afternoon (Friday) just to keep the players focused.”
Williams said they have relished playing at STETHS this year, losing just once in five games there and have become accustomed to the grounds.
The Cornwall versus Glenmuir game will be a battle of wits between two coaches who are close friends and familiar with each other’s style of play.
Cornwall’s Dr Dean Weatherly and Glenmuir’s Jackie Walters are so much alike in their thinking that even yesterday’s responses eerily echoed each other.
Both coaches said they are expecting their teams to come out and play their best game of the year with the season on the line.
Glenmuir have the more experienced team with four players from the team that beat Cornwall twice in the 2005 season — captain James Thomas, Kashmar Briscoe, Jon-Ross Doyley and Trevol Smith.
Compared to this, Cornwall’s only hold over is Edward Campbell, who was coming off the bench then.
Walters said their win streak against the Cornwall team “could work both ways — it would make them complacent or more guarded”.
Personally, he said, his philosophy going into the game was for the team “to play their best game ever and let the chips fall where they may”.
Glenmuir are seeking their third final in four seasons and after missing out on the Ben Francis KO have only the daCosta Cup to play for.
Dr Weatherly agreed with Walters that their failures in 2005 have no bearing on today’s game, “that was then, this is now”, he said.
“On the day, it is how the teams perform,” Dr Weatherly pointed out, adding he was happy with how his team was “coming together well”.
Cornwall, who failed to get out of Zone A last season, have won four of their last six games, scoring 13 goals in the process and have been creating numerous chances.
Dr Weatherly will take comfort in the fact that while his top two scorers Campbell and Radcliff Hall have combined for just one goal in the quarterfinals, other players have popped up to produce the goods.