Grange Hill, Glenmuir advance
FROME, Westmoreland — Grange Hill High created the biggest shock in yesterday’s final set of ISSA/Gatorade/Digicel daCosta Cup Inter-Zone games by beating Munro College, 4-1, to leap from third place in Group Three to being one of the six automatic qualifiers for the quarter-finals.
With Lennon High’s 2-1 win over Manchester High, who came into the round as leaders and needing only a draw to qualify, Grange Hill won the group on goal difference ahead of Lennon after both schools finished on five points each.
There will be a historic play-off between Petersfield High and Buff Bay High tomorrow to decide the second best second-placed team after both finished locked on statistics.
Petersfield, who played out a 2-2 draw with Group Four winners St Elizabeth Technical and Buff Bay, who drew 0-0 with Group Six winners and first-time qualifiers Paul Bogle, both finished with five points and a goal differential of +1 from four goals scored and three against.
In a tight finish they beat Lennon, who also had five points and a +1 goal differential, but scored only three goals.
Cedric Titus High earned their first trip to the quarter-finals after drawing 0-0 with Frome Technical, who won Group One after both finished on seven points.
Defending champions Rusea’s High and former champions Glenmuir both won to complete the Inter-Zone round undefeated to win Group Two and Five, respectively, while St Elizabeth Technical High (STETHS) and Paul Bogle were the other group winners.
At Frome, Orvest Hewling, Daryl Daley, Emroy Vanhorne and Jovan Whyte scored for Grange Hill as they qualified for the quarter-finals for the first time since 2002.
At Jarrett Park, Rusea’s blanked Marcus Garvey Technical, 4-0, as Brian Brown scored twice to take his tally to seven goals since the start of the Inter-Zone.
Brown, who won the Golden Boot Award last year and notched 24 goals in the first round, scored Rusea’s first goal in the 50th minute, then added another in the 87th after Nicodie Haughton in the 57th and Keanu Williams in the 75th also scored against Marcus Garvey, who finished the game with 10 players as Damani Sewell picked up his second yellow card for deliberately handling the ball.
Glenmuir High’s Noel Johnson stayed in front in the race for the Golden Boot with a hat-trick in their 5-0 beating of Tacius Golding at the Juici Patties field.
The hat-trick improved Johnson’s tally to nine, while Newton Henry and Paul Wilson also scored.