Are STETHS, Munro off the boil?
SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — Schoolboy football fans might do a double take when they see the points tables in Zone E of the Flow/ISSA daCosta Cup competition.
After just two games, Lacovia High, BB Coke and Maggotty High are tied for the lead on four points followed by St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) on two points, Munro College on one, and Newell High yet to get a point.
Of the top three teams only Lacovia have managed to qualify for the Inter-zone round in the past 10 years as STETHS have dominated and to a lesser extent Munro College have also been able to progress past the first round.
While it might be too early to press the panic button it is way out of the norm for STETHS to be anywhere except in the top two places at any stage of the competition, at least in the last 10 years or so.
The last time STETHS have failed to win their first two games was in 2010 when they were held 1-1 by Lacovia in the opening game played at Jarrett Park, but went on to win the zone by a point ahead of DeCarteret College.
Last week STETHS were held 1-1 at home by Maggotty who were scoring only their second goal against STETHS in six years and were taking a point in Santa Cruz for the first time ever.
This was followed by a 2-2 draw at Lacovia on Wednesday and at least in some quarters, there have been calls for heads to roll.
Those making the call might have some ammunition to work with as over the last four seasons STETHS have dominated and have never failed to win their first three games and have conceded just a single goal over those 12 games while scoring 82 goals.
Last season they opened with a 9-0 win over BB Coke in Montego Bay, then beat Newell 5-1 followed by a 2-0 win over Maggotty.
In 2013 they opened with back-to-back 6-0 wins over Maggotty and Lacovia, then whipped Balaclava 11-0.
In 2012 STETHS edged Maggotty 1-0 in their opening game then beat Lacovia 3-0, but opened the throttle with a 10-0 spanking of Balaclava.
They started the 2011 season with consecutive 5-0 wins over DeCarteret and Balaclava before a huge 17-0 thrashing of Newell High.
