CATHERINE HALL, St James — Defending champions Cornwall College and three other former winners are among eight teams seeking to confirm places in the quarter-finals of the ISSA/FLOW daCosta Cup competition, when the return legs of nine second-round pairings are played today.

Cornwall College, Clarendon College, St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS), Frome Technical and Glenmuir High, as well Manchester High, Steer Town High and Holmwood Technical will take leads into today’s set of games.

Dinthill Technical, who won all 10 first-round games while scoring more than 50 goals in the process, were ranked fifth after the first round. They had to come from behind to earn a 1-1 draw against 28th-ranked Bellefield High.

Bellefield High ended the game on Wednesday with nine players and will face a Dinthill Technical team with their backs to the wall, and desperate for a win. They will have the advantage of playing at home.

National senior team player Kaheem Parris, who has scored 20 goals — more than the entire Bellefield team combined — was kept off the scoresheet on Wednesday. The Bellefield defence could have their work cut out for them today.

STETHS will also have home comfort against an unheralded but spirited Cedric Titus High, who gave almost as much as they took on Wednesday. Cedric Titus trail 2-3 going into the return leg.

STETHS, the third-ranked team, are up against the team ranked 30th and last among the automatic qualifiers. STETHS must put away the tie as early as possible as the Delroy Delliser-coached Cedric Titus appeared to grow in confidence the longer Wednesday’s game went on.

Damani Henderson’s first-half double made the difference for STETHS on Wednesday, but the wily Delliser is expected to make adjustments for today’s game.

Cornwall College only led 1-0 at half-time in their game against Morant Bay at Paul Bogle High on Wednesday, but got more comfortable as the game progressed with three more goals in the second half. They should be able to wrap up the tie..

Clarendon College should make their four-goal cushion (5-1 lead) stand up against Green Island, who had a nervous start on Wednesday and were down 0-3 inside 30 minutes.

Glenmuir High and Manchester High should cruise against Oracabessa High and Ewarton High, respectively, especially with both rural area powerhouses at home.

Glenmuir High lead 2-1 from Wednesday, while Manchester High have the largest advantage of any team from the first leg after thumping Ewarton 7-1.

There could still be some fireworks left, however, with three match-ups likely to be close. St Mary Technical are at home in Highgate but trail Steer Town 0-1. Paul Bogle High are on home soil against Holmwood Technical after losing 2-1 on Wednesday, while Munro College are 0-1 behind Frome Technical going into their game at Frome.

Today’s second-round return games

1:00 pm — Glenmuir vs Oracabessa @ Juici Field

3:00 pm — Clarendon College vs Green Island @ Juici Field

3:00 pm — STETHS vs Cedric Titus @ STETHS

3:00 pm — Cornwall College vs Morant Bay @ Montego Bay Complex

3:00 pm — Manchester vs Ewarton @ Manchester High

3:00 pm — St Mary Technical vs Steer Town @ Highgate Community Centre

3:00 pm — Paul Bogle vs Holmwood Technical @ Paul Bogle High

3:00 pm — Dinthill vs Bellefield @ Dinthill Technical

3:00 pm — Frome Technical vs Munro College @ Frome Sports Club