The present champion, two former champions and a first timer are amongst the semi-finalists in the ISSA/Pepsi/Digicel daCosta Cup schoolboys’ football competition as the competition heads to a climax.

St James High, Garvey Maceo High, St Elizabeth Technical High and Manchester High will advance to Saturday’s semi-finals, which will be played in Montego Bay and Santa Cruz for a place in the December 5 final.

The final four teams were decided after Saturday’s third and final round of matches in the quarter-finals round.

St James High beat Frome Technical 3-1 at Jarrett Park to top Group One, while STETHS upset Ben Francis Knock Out champions Glenmuir High 2-0 to advance as the second placed team.

Despite resting a number of regular starters, Garvey Maceo high came from a goal down to draw 1-1 against Spalding High to top Group Two, while Manchester also came from behind to beat Marcus Garvey and advanced as the second placed team.

In Saturday’s semi-finals St James High will face Manchester in one game at Jarrett Park while Garvey Maceo and STETHS will meet at the STETHS Sports Complex in Santa Cruz.

At Prison Oval, Dave Morgan and Jason Johnson with his sixth goal scored in the second half after Garfield Stewart had given Marcus Garvey the lead in the first half.

The win was the second in a row in the quarterfinals for the Manchester High team after they had lost to Garvey Maceo in the opening round, but bounced back to beat Spaldings 4-1 on Wednesday.

At the STETHS Complex, the home team created the upset of the round when Deshorn Brown scored twice, once in either half to join Garvey Maceo’s Kenroy Thomas as the top scorers on seven goals.

STETHS repeated their heroics from the Inter-zone round when they went into the final game with their backs to the wall needing to win against arguably the best team in the competition and duly obliged for second year coach Andrew Edwards.

The last time STETHS was in the semi-final came 10 years ago when they won the competition for the second time.

At Jarrett Park, St James High looked lethargic and were outplayed for long periods by a Frome team that had conceded six goals in their previous game.

After being blocked by goalkeeper Taric Ackbersingh, who was making his first appearance all season, in the 10th minute, Reid put the champions ahead two minutes later when he tapped home a cross from Cion Peterkin from less than two yards out.

Peterkin was sent through from a back heeled pass from Allan Ottey and powered his way past three defenders to the touch line before sending the ball low and hard across the face of the goal.

Frome drew level in the 21st-minute, however, when Inique Findley pounced on a rebound from St James High’s goalkeeper Everett Nunes and left-footed it back into the goal, snapping St James High’s 262 minutes without conceding a goal.

The last time prior to Findley’s goal that St James had conceded a goal was in their Inter-zone game against William Knibb that they won 4-1.

After giving up territorial advantage to Frome for long periods St James High too the lead again in the 40th minute when Paul Beswick needlessly handled the ball in his own area and Jason Marshall who had replaced Alwayne Barrett two minutes earlier, converted.

Frome came out the better team in the second-half and should have drawn level again but Findley hit the left upright with a penalty kick in the 63rd- minute after Kenroy Grant had handled the ball inside the box.

Frome’s Navol James had a scoring chance in the 72nd-minute, but shot the ball into the chest of Nunez and seven minutes later Findley’s diving header was knocked down by the goalkeeper and eventually cleared by a defender.

Reid put the game away in the 85th-minute when his shot from just on the top of the penalty box slipped through the legs of the goalkeeper and into the goal.

Results from Saturday

St James High 3 – Frome Tech 1

STETHS 2 – Glenmuir High 0

Marcus Garvey 1- Manchester High 2

Spalding High 1 – Garvey Maceo 1

Bridgeport and STGC to battle in finals

An epic battle will take place this Saturday in the Manning Cup. Defending champions St George’s College and this year’s title favourites Bridgeport High will face off in the prestigious competition’s finals.

Both top teams are led by equally enigmatic and deadly strikers; St George’s versus Bridgeport is definitely a dream match-up for all neutral schoolboy football fans. With such a long season, TEENage thought it would be fitting to see just how these teams got this far.

Bridgeport High

Starting the season in Group E, with the likes of Holy Trinity, Kingston High, St Andrew College, St Catherine High and Tivoli High, many said that the Anthony Patrick-coached boys had it easy in the first round.

Indeed, with a debutant school, two traditional minnows and weakened St Catherine and Tivoli High teams, it would not be a stretch to say such a thing. Bridgeport, as expected, easily topped the zone to qualify for the Walker Cup knockout competition.

In that competition, they faced their first and only major disappointment where they went down to eventual champions Jamaica College in the semi-finals.

Looking to rebound in the second round of the Manning Cup, the Portmore-based team wearily left it until the last match against group leaders and city rivals Waterford High to qualify for the semis.

After smashing eight goals past the yellow and blue-clad Waterford (including five from talismanic captain and forward Darren Mattocks), few questioned their readiness to fulfil the favourite tag. Facing another title favourite in St Andrew Technical in the semi-finals, all the 2006 champions needed was one goal from Andre Preston to put a hand on the coveted trophy.

St George’s College

Placed in group F at the beginning of the campaign, the light blue defending champions were given a zone comprising of Ascot High, Charlie Smith High, Eltham High, Jonathan Grant High, Kingston Technical High and St Mary’s College.

The boys from North Street found the going a little rough with the likes of Eltham looking resolute. In the end both teams ended up progressing to the Walker Cup.

The Neville Bell-coached squad made it all the way to the finals where they were beaten by a destined Jamaica College contingent.

In the second round of the Manning Cup, it seemed as if they jumped out of the frying pan and jumped right into the fire as they were placed in the ‘group of death’. They, alongside Jamaica College, Calabar High and Wolmer’s High, were all to battle for one spot in the semis. Securing their spot on the final day with a draw against Calabar, the St George’s team then put aside the challenge of Excelsior High in the semis.

The Leebert Halliman-coached boys from Mountain View stood no chance against a St George’s team led by former Kingston College striker Macauley Tulloch, who put all three goals past them in the game.

With the top two strikers in the league this season set to go head-to-head, it will certainly be a match to watch as these two powerhouses in schoolboy football lock horns in what should be an epic battle.

– Dhane Brown

European Football Round-Up

BY Devaro Bolton

Observer TEENage writer

UWI

Tottenham believe it or not!

EPL: Jermain Defoe continued to push for a place in the World Cup squad by firing home five times to lead Tottenham Hotspurs to a 9-1 decimating of Wigan Athletic.

Peter Crouch opened the scoring and interesting enough, this was the only goal in the first half. Defoe hit top gear while Niko Kranjcar, David Bentley and Aaron Lennon got their names on the score sheet for this mind-blowing phenomenon.

Darren Bent became the only striker to score against every team in the ‘Top Four’ on Saturday, scoring late in the second half to give Sunderland a 1-0 win over Arsenal. Ricardo Fuller scored in the 74th-minute to give Stoke City a 1-0 win over Portsmouth. A brace from Michael Essien helped Chelsea to a 4-0 whipping of Wolverhampton. Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick and Luis Antonio Valencia were all on the score sheet as Manchester United returned to second place with a 3-0 win over Everton.

Blackburn Rovers upset Bolton Wanderers 2-0 at the Reebok Stadium with goals from David Dunn and an own goal. Liverpool and Manchester City played to a hard-fought 2-2 draw at Anfield.

Higuain put Real in first

La Liga: A Gonzalo Higuain strike in the 22nd-minute of play against Racing Santander was enough to give Real Madrid a 1-0 win and in the process rocket them to first place in the standings.

Barcelona could only manage a 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao, giving up a lead given to them by Dani Alves to a strike from substitute Toquero. Goals from wanted winger Diego Perotti and Renato boosted Sevilla to a 2-1 away win over Tenerife, nullifying Nino’s consolation. Atletico Madrid continue to struggle for form, failing to capitalise on the third minute lead given to them by Kun Aguero to lose 2-1 to Deportivo La Coruna.

Diego Colotto and a 90th-minute penalty from Andres Guardado helped Deportivo to three welcomed points. A brace from Nilmar and another from Giuseppe Rossi fired Villareal to a 3-1 win over Valladolid. Pedro Rios and Casquero scored to give Getafe a 2-0 away win over Espanyol.

A double strike from Gonzalo Castro propelled Mallorca to a 3-1 over Almeria. David Villa, David Albelda and Carlos Marchena were on target as Valencia defeated Osasuna 3-1.

Top teams, touch wins

Serie A: Inter Milan recorded a hard-fought 3-1 away win over Bologna through Diego Milito, Mario Balotelli and Esteban Cambiasso strikes. Fabio Grosso scored in the 51st-minute to give Juventus a 1-0 win over Udinese.

Francesco Totti scored a hat-trick to lead AS Roma to a 3-1 whipping of Bari. Valeri Bojinov got sweet revenge on Saturday as he lead Parma to a 3-2 win over his old club Fiorentina. Bojinov, Nicola Amoruso and Davide Lanzafame were on target for Parma while Alberto Gilardino bagged a brace for the losers.

Clarence Seedorf, Alexandre Pato, Ronaldhino and Marco Borriello were on all target as AC Milan edged past Cagliari 4-3.

Marco Rossi and in-form talisman Giampaolo Pazzini fired home to give Sampdoria a 2-1 win over Chievo Verona. Simone Tribocchi and Robert Acquafresca scored to give Atalanta a 2-0 away win over Siena.

Order reshuffle at the top

Bundesliga: In a display of sheer dominance Werder Bremen ran out 6-0 away winners over SC Freiburg. The deadly midfield combination of Mesut Ozil and Marko Marin were both on target as was Hugo Almeida with a double to record the massive win.

TSG Hoffenheim were 4-0 away winners over FC Koln with strikes from Vedad Ibesivic, Carlos Eduardo, Demba Ba and Chinedu Obasi. Jefferson Farfan and Jan Movarek led Schalke 04 to a 2-0 win over Hannover 96. VfL Bochum recorded a shock upset by beating Hamburg SV 1-0 away through a Dennis Grote strike.

FC Nurnberg also recorded an upset by defeating defending champions VfL Wolfsburg on their home turf. Albert Bunjaku scored twice to lead the underdogs to victory. Leaders Bayer Leverkusen and eight-placed Bayern Munich played to a 1-1 draw.

Big teams still safe in Champions League

Champions League Preview

The UEFA Champions League returns with crucial victories needed for some of Europe’s biggest teams to keep their dream alive. The likes of Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Barcelona and Inter Milan, AC Milan and Marseille could all be relegated to compete for the Europa League. With no team really asserting their dominance in this year’s competition except for maybe Chelsea, there is no clear winner this term and a surprise might just be sprang with an underog claiming the crown of top-shots in Europe.

In Group A, Bordeaux who’s at the top needs only to avoid defeat against Juventus to ensure progression. Bayern Munich on the other hand faces a must win game against Maccabi Haifa and the hope of a Juventus victory to get back in the running’s to move on to the second round of the competition. Bordeaux sit atop of the table after four rounds of matches with 10 points followed by Juventus with eight, Bayern with four and Maccabi Haifa 0.

Group B holds no such desperation as the teams expected to qualify are well on course to do so. The English and German champions lie first and second respectively with United on 10 points and Wolfsburg on seven, respectively. CSKA Moscow, who it was thought could pull the surprise and qualify is on four and Besiktas on one. Wolfsburg faces CSKA and United square off against Besiktas. Victory for both clubs should see them through to the next round but defeat for the Germans could make things interesting.

In Group C there is a ding dong battle between Real Madrid, AC Milan and Marseille who are on seven, seven and six points respectively. Victory for any of these three sides is vitally important and defeat could prove costly. Real Madrid, however, has the easier task as they will face cellar dwellers FC Zurich and AC Milan will go up against Marseille.

Group D holds a more straightforward table with no complications as Chelsea and FC Porto are have all but guaranteed their place in the second round. Woeful Atletico Madrid of Spain and bottom placed APOEL are merely completing their fixture lists as their fates have already been sealed. Chelsea will face Porto while APOEL will take on Atletico Madrid.

How the mighty have fallen. The Red side of Merseyside seems destined for the Europa League except for divine intervention. Group E sees Liverpool sitting third on four points, Lyon of France on 10 and Fiorentina of Italy on nine. Liverpool face a must win game against Debrecen and pray for a Lyon win against Fiorentina.

In probably the closet group in this year’s completion, the points standings for Group F are laid out numerically. Defending champions Barcelona are struggling as the domination seen in the last year is absent. At the top of the Group lies Inter Milan who managed their first win of the campaign last time out against Dynamo Kiev. They are ahead on 6 points, followed by Barcelona and Rubin Kazan of Russia on 5 and Dynamo Kiev of Ukraine on 4. Each of these four teams face must win games to stay alive in the competition with defeat probably sending them to the newly named Europa League. Spanish Champions Barcelona will go up against Inter Milan and more importantly Samuel Eto’o returning to the Camp Nou. Rubin Kazan who has a realistic chance of springing a surprise and qualify for the knockout round will face Dynamo Kiev.

Group G sees the top spot already claimed by Sevilla of Spain and the battle on for second spot between Stuttgart, Rangers and Unirea Urziceni on three, two and five points respectively. Rangers will face Stuttgart and Sevilla do battle with Unirea Urziceni.

Finally, Group H sees an impressive Arsenal trying to keep their run going. Having all but qualified for the knockout stage, Arsenal will face off against Standard Liege who is locked in a battle for second with Olympiacos of Greece who will play AZ Alkmaar of Holland. Arsenal lead on 10 points followed by Olympiacos on six, Standard on four and Alkmaar on two.

– Michael Thompson