All qualifiers to be finalised today
DRAX HALL, St Ann — All 32 qualifiers for the Inter-Zone and 15 qualifiers for the Ben Francis competition will be decided today following the playing of three rescheduled games in the ISSA/LIME daCosta Cup football competition.
After Saturday’s dramatic set of games, today’s games are not expected to be as nail-bitingly close, but some drama could still be in store, especially in the Zone I game between Marcus Garvey Technical and Cedric Titus High to decide the zone winners.
At Eastern Bananas field in St Thomas, St Thomas Technical need only to avoid losing by three or more goals against Seaforth High to confirm their place from Zone O behind winners Paul Bogle High.
The first game between the teams had ended in a 0-0 draw.
In the third game, in Zone G, Holmwood Technical will hope to lick their wounds against Alston High after just failing on Saturday to stay in contention after losing to Christiana High for the second time in a week.
At Drax Hall, the script is set for fireworks as Marcus Garvey Technical lead with 25 points, one more than Cedric Titus’ 24, as they battle for the right to meet Clarendon College in the first round of the Ben Francis KO on Wednesday afternoon.
Marcus Garvey are the only team to beat Cedric Titus this season, but the Clarks Town, Trelawny-based school has the better scoring record of 25 goals for and one against. Marcus Garvey have scored 24 goals and conceded five.
In Saturday’s drama-filled final day of the scheduled games, Green Pond High snatched the Ben Francis KO place from St James High, scoring three unanswered goals after being two goals down in the first half.
Four schools went into the day needing only a point to advance, but only two were able to earn it, Brimmervale in Zone J, and Happy Grove in Zone L.
Spot Valley also needed a point in Zone C, but William Knibb used home field advantage to run out 3-0 winners to snatch their second straight Ben Francis spot, while Spot Valley missed advancing for the second time in four seasons.
In Zone F, BB Coke got the point they needed against Bellefield High, who were seeking back-to-back Inter-Zone qualification.
Godfrey Stewart High returned to the Inter-Zone round for the first time since the 2008 season after topping Zone D on goal difference over Grange Hill, with both finishing on 17 points; Godfrey beat Knockalva Technical 4-0, while Grange Hill drew 1-1 at Mannings, to snap a two-year run where they made it to the Ben Francis KO.
As expected, the race for the runner-up spot in Zone H came down to the wire as three teams were separated by a single point behind run-away winners Clarendon College.
Lennon High beat Clarendon to move to 11 points to edge Edwin Allen, who also beat Thompson Town on goal difference. Thompson Town finished on 10 points, the closest they had ever come to advancing in the school’s history in the competition.
Meanwhile, the qualifiers for the Ben Francis KO are Green Pond High, Rusea’s High, William Knibb Memorial, Godfrey Stewart, STETHS, Manchester High, Christiana High, Clarendon College, St Mary Technical, Dinthill Technical, Port Antonio, Glenmuir High, Kemps Hill and Paul Bogle High.
Inter Zone qualifiers are St James High, Green Island High Muschett High, Grange Hill High, Munro College, B B Coke High, Spalding High, Lennon High, Marcus Garvey Technical, Cedric Titus High, Brimmervale High, Bog Walk High, Happy Grove, Garvey Maceo High, and Vere Technical.Games on todaySaturday’s results
Zone I
Marcus Garvey vs Cedric Titus @
Drax Hall
Zone G
Alston vs Holmwood
Zone O
St Thomas Technical vs Seaforth High
Zone A
Maldon 3, Anchovy 1
St James 2, Green Pond 3
Zone B
Rusea’s 6, Cambridge 1
Green Island 3, Irwin 0
Zone C
William Knibb 3, Spot Valley 0
Holland 1, Herbert Morrison 3
Zone D
Godfrey Stewart 4, Knockalva Tech 0
Mannings 1, Grange Hill 1
Zone E
STETHS 5, Newell 0
Maggotty 1, Balaclava 0
Lacovia 0, Munro 1
Zone F
Mile Gully 3, DeCarteret 2
Bellefield 0, BB Coke 0
Manchester 0, Cross Keys 0
Zone G
Holmwood 0, Christiana 1
Knox 0, Spalding 7
Zone H
Thompson Town 0, Edwin Allen 1
Clarendon College 0, Lennon 1
Zone I
Ocho Rios 0, Marcus Garvey 2
York Castle 0, Cedric Titus 4
Zone J
St Mary Tech 4, Iona 0
Islington 0, Oracabessa 1
St Mary High 0, Brimmervale 0
Zone K
Bog Walk 2, Charlemont 0
Dinthill 1, Ewarton 0
Zone L
Port Antonio 0, Fair Prospect 0
Happy Grove 3, Titchfield 1
Zone M
Glenmuir 5, Bustamante 1
Zone N
Foga Road 1, Kemps Hill 0
Old Harbour 0, Vere Tech 0
Zone O
Yallahs 0, Morant Bay 2
Paul Bogle 10, Robert Lightbourne 0