CATHERINE HALL, St James — The semi-finalists in the ISSA Champions Cup all-island knockout will be decided today following two double-header quarter-final games at Montego Bay Sports Complex and Stadium East.

The games in Montego Bay will feature the last two beaten finalists St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) and Cornwall College, while at Stadium East there will be a repeat of the 2014 final between Jamaica College and Holy Trinity High.

STETHS, who were beaten in last year’s final, will face Charlie Smith High in the first game set to start at 4:00 pm followed by 2016 finalists Cornwall College against Camperdown High.

Jamaica College meet Holy Trinity in the first game at Stadium East followed by former champions St George’s College against St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) with the winners advancing to the November 16 semi-finals.

The games at the Montego Bay Sports Complex are the only ones featuring schools from the daCosta Cup against Manning Cup teams as STETHS and Cornwall College were the only rural area schools that managed a win in last weekend’s first round which was dominated by the Corporate Area schools.

Interestingly, both STETHS and Cornwall College advanced to the quarter-finals after avenging their losses in the finals; STETHS beating Kingston College and Cornwall College getting the better of Wolmer’s Boys’ last weekend, both on penalty kicks after the games ended in 1-1 scorelines.

Of the four schools playing at Catherine Hall today, only Camperdown High did not need penalty kicks to advance after beating Frome Technical 1-0 at today’s venue, while Charlie Smith upset the highly fancied Clarendon College on penalty kicks after giving up a 1-0 lead late in the contest.

On paper the rural area schools have the edge going into the matches, but none of the four teams will be letting down their guards with very little between them based on their first-round victories.

STETHS, who failed to get into the semi-finals of the ISSA/Wata daCosta Cup for the first time in years, will be seeking to end a two-year title drought and started the Champions Cup with a big upset win over holders Kingston College at Sabina Park last Friday.

It could be a battle of STETHS’, offence led by the prolific Ronaldo Webster, who, despite being kept off the scoresheet last week, is expected to lead the team’s attack against a well-organised Charlie Smith team that was able to restrict the potent Clarendon College offence.

Charlie Smith’s win over Clarendon College was their first in a while after they earned only a point in their Manning Cup quarter-final group.

STETHS, on the other hand, just missed a spot in the daCosta Cup semi-finals, finishing second behind Dinthill Technical but scored five times in their three games.

Cornwall College and Camperdown High will be meeting for the first time in 36 years, since the Olivier Shield in 1982, and would have had a chance to see each other last week.

Both teams in the second game at Catherine Hall will have to step up their efforts after sub-par performances last weekend.

Camperdown High just missed a spot in the Manning Cup semi-final, losing to Kingston College, when a draw would have been good enough to see them through, but struggled for long periods against Frome Technical in the first round and were only spared by the daCosta Cup team’s poor finishing.

Cornwall College, on the other hand, looked sluggish against Wolmer’s Boys’ and failed to get into any rhythm against a well-organised team.

Cornwall College were saved in the penalty shoot-out by goalkeeper Peter Sinclair, but will be hoping strikers Aiden Jokomba, Solano Birch and Shavon McDonald will be able to do the job in regulation time today.

Both games at Stadium East promise excitement and closely contested affairs despite the first-round results.

St George’s College saw off Garvey Maceo High 2-0 with two well-taken goals, while Jamaica College cruised past Mile Gully High 4-0 for the most comfortable margin of the first round.

Both Holy Trinity and STATHS have been knocking at the door of a title for the last few years and will get another chance of returning to a semi-final but will find tough teams in their paths.

Despite drawing twice in the quarter-finals, St George’s College are unbeaten all year and will prove a difficult opponent for STATHS, who will be without their inspirational goalkeeper Jeadine White, as he is with the National Under-20 team at the Concacaf Under-20 Championship in the USA.

Jamaica College had one blemish in the first round and face a Holy Trinity team that lost twice in the quarter-finals, but rebounded to beat Dinthill Technical in the first round of the Champions Cup.

Today’s games

Jamaica College vs Holy Trinity High @ 4:00 pm

St George’s College vs STATHS @ 6:00 pm

STETHS vs Charlie Smith High 4:00 pm

Cornwall College vs Camperdown High 6:00 @ pm