DACOSTA Cup champions St Elizabeth Technical (STETHS) will today seek to overcome a one-goal deficit when they face urban area kingpins St George’s College in the second leg of the Olivier Shield at the Harbour View Mini- stadium at 3:00 pm.

The boys from North Street had to come from behind twice to earn a well deserved 3-2 victory on Wednesday in the first leg at the STETHS playfield and will look to captain Devon Williams, Marvin Morgan and Kemar Cummings to replicate their showing from that game. Williams had set up two of the goals and scored one himself, while the others came from Morgan and the torrid right boot of Oneil Fisher.

STETHS, who many observers believe have improved leaps and bounds tactically and technically as the season has gone on, will seek inspiration from talismanic forward Deshorn Brown, and goalscorers from the first leg Denmark Gillings and Romero Thompson.

The Santa Cruz-based school had lost twice to Munro in the preliminary stage of the daCosta Cup and had also been demolished by last year’s winners St James High in the interzone round before winning the remaining two games to force their way into the semi-final round.

Coach Andrew Edwards will hope that his team will show that kind of belief and self confidence now that their backs are against the wall. STETHS, aside from the first 15 minutes of the first leg game, had endured sustained pressure from the visitors and will no doubt try to disrupt the possession game of their opponents.

“Everybody is okay and really raring to go. We know exactly what we have to do and we are getting ourselves in the frame of mind to deliver the goods. We just have to try and play them a lot closer than we did in the second half of the game on Wednesday,” he said.

Edwards explained that his team has a chance once they show more physical endurance, particularly in the latter part of today’s game. “We have tried to do a few things to help freshen up the boys a bit and hopefully with that in place the boys will remain fresh enough to do the work necessary to close down the St George’s team,” he said, adding that his team will attack from the first whistle.

“We have to force the issue and try and get the first goal and after that we will try and get a second one. We need a goal to have at least a share of the championship. We have to go in search of goals and

not concede.”

St George’s, on the other hand, are beaming with confidence after snatching the advantage late in the first leg and are boosted by the fact that they have not lost a game during normal time all season. Despite conceding first in many games, their only blemish has been a penalty shoot-out loss to Jamaica College in the Walker Cup final.

Neville ‘Bertis’ Bell’s assistant Marcel Gayle is adamant that his team will not relax despite having the one-goal advantage and the luxury of playing in a more familiar environment than their opponents.

“It’s a brand new day and it’s a brand new game. We can’t lean back and get complacement and so will start to play our football from the get-go. We have to play the kind of football we have been playing all season; that’s passing and attacking football. We are aware of STETHS and we will do the necessary work in defending against them.”

Both teams are sweating over the fitness of their frontmen leading up to the huge clash. St George’s’ leading scorer MaCaulay Tulloch had to be substituted in the second half of Wednesday’s game after sustaining what appeared to be a groin injury and Gayle said he is uncertain if the powerful forward will play a role in today’s game.

Edwards noted Brown is sure to be involved for STETHS, but refused to confirm if he will make the starting 11. Edwards said after the previous game that Brown was carrying a knee and groin injury.