MANCHESTER High will seek their first ever hold on the ISSA/Pepsi/Digicel daCosta Cup title when they go up against St Elizabeth Technical (STETHS) in Saturdays final at the St Elizabeth Technical Sports Complex.

STETHS, who are gunning to reclaim the title they last won a decade ago will seek to use home support to their advantage when they welcome the Manchester school in the final.

Manchester High and STETHS set up an unlikely finale in the rural area schoolboys’ competition after contrasting upset wins in last weekend’s semi-finals. Manchester defeated defending champions St James High 3-0 on penalty kicks after the two teams played out a 0-0 draw in full and extra-time at Jarrett Park.

STETHS, on the other hand, did things the old-fashion way by dispatching the red hot Garvey Maceo High 3-1 in 90 minutes.

In Santa Cruz, Dravion Williams gave STETHS the lead after just 12 minutes with DeShorn Brown scoring the first of his double on the stroke of half-time to give STETHS a 2-0 lead at the break. Brown got his double when he scored in the 60th minute to take his tally to nine goals and extend his lead atop the goal scoring chart. Andre Vanzie pulled one back for Garvey Maceo in the 83rd minute, but it was a case of a little to late.

The loss ended Garvey Maceo’s dreams of emulating Clarendon College’s 1991 feat of failing to qualify for the Inter-zone round at first, but got back in the competition at the expense of another team and went on to win it. Maceo’s team took the place of Old Harbour High, who withdrew because of problems in one of the youth teams.

At Jarrett Park, Manchester High’s goalkeeper Michael Parcells who had little to do for the previous 110 minutes, was the hero of the day as he saved two of the St James’ penalty kicks on route to helping his team win the shoot-out.

Manchester High’s veteran coach Baron Watson was at a loss for words after the win but told TEENage Observer, “I feel good especially for the boys as they worked hard all season and they really deserved it,” The veteran coach of over 20 years at the schoolboy level said his players might have been intimidated by playing at Jarrett Park, “The guys came under pressure having to come to play a game like this at Jarrett Park” was the reason he said they failed to convert their superiority in ball possession.

Pastor Hugh Solomon, the coach of the St James High team, lamented his players missing all three penalty kicks, saying they “did not look purposeful in the penalty kicks… we were practising all evening Thursday at training and thought they should have done much better here today, they just did not do well.”

St James High were also let down by the lack of depth on their bench as despite a number of players limping from as early as the first half, made just two changes.

Both coaches sought to restrict the effectiveness of the other team’s most dangerous striker as Manchester High’s Orlando Platt close-marked St James High’s Allan Ottey, while at the other end, Manchester High’s Jason Johnson was kept under tight reigns by St James’ best defender John Barrett.

Urged on by a vocal crowd that drowned out the St James supporters, Manchester High soaked up some early pressure, but took over the game from about the 20th minute and pushed St James back in their own half for long periods.

Despite this, they failed to force a save from Evertett Nunes in the St James goal and it was the Montego Bay team that got the two best chances of the first half. Roshane Reid turned and shot just wide of the far left post early on while a long-range shot from midfielder Alwayne Barrett curled just left of the goal post.

Manchester came close to scoring in the 60th minute, but after beating two defenders Johnson powered the ball into the side netting. St James’ Ricardo Morris had the best chance of the game in the 72nd minute when he finished off a brilliant combination, taking a pass from Ottey on the left and with only goalkeeper Parcells to beat placed the ball inches wide of the left post.

Manchester had a chance to win it in the first period of extra time, but the unmarked Dahair Dyer who had replaced Junior Neil in the 67th minute hit the ball into the ground after he was picked out by a ball swung from the right side.

In the shoot-out, Oral Johnson, Shenaldo Parkes and Remawn Thomas all scored while Reid put his shot wide and Parcells saved Ottey and Jason Malcolm’s shots.

[naviga:font size=””]Top Scorers: D’Cup 2009

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[naviga:font size=””]Nine goals Deshorn Brown — STETHS

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[naviga:font size=””]Seven goals Kenroy Thomas — Garvey Maceo High

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[naviga:font size=””]Six goals Jason Johnson — Manchester High

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[naviga:font size=””]Five goals Roshane Reid — St James High

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[naviga:font size=””]Four

goals Fabian Barrant- — Paul Bogle High Tevin Skyers — Dinthill

Technical

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[naviga:font size=””]Mikhail Howell — Garvey Maceo High Andrew Vanzie — Garvey

Maceo High

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