MONTEGO BAY, St James — Zone Two leaders Spot Valley High and Ben Francis Knock-Out finalists Grange Hill will meet in a crucial ISSA/Gatorade/Digicel Inter-zone match at Jarrett Park this afternoon as the race for quarter-final places gets into high gear.

Spot Valley are the unlikely leaders of the Zone on three points after a hotly contested 1-0 win over St James High at Jarrett Park on Wednesday, while Grange Hill and Frome Tech played out a 0-0 draw at Frome and a win today would put them in the driver’s seat.

Christiana High and Clarendon College, losers on Wednesday, will meet in a Zone Four game at Kirkvine in an attempt to revive their hopes.

With the expansion of the Inter-zone round to eight, only the winners of the Inter-zone groups will advance to the quarter-finals.

Despite their places in the group going into the game, Grange Hill will start favourites with their more experienced team against a Spot Valley team that has been inconsistent all season.

Grange Hill’s run to the final of the KO, in which they conceded just one goal in regulation play in three matches, would have bolstered their confidence against a Spot Valley team that had to wait until the final game of the regular season to confirm their Inter-zone place.

Both will be desperate for a win at Kirkvine, but big losses on Wednesday could have seriously dented their hopes of advancing.

Munro College scored five goals against Christiana, while Clarendon College gave up two goals to a Manchester High team that was coming off a defeat against Grange Hill in the Ben Francis KO semi-finals. The Inter-zone continues tomorrow with 14 more games.

Meanwhile, the Urban Area Manning Cup continues today with a double header in Group J. In the curtain-raiser at 1:00 pm, at Constant Spring Complex, defending champions St George’s College start their second-round bid against Holy Trinity High, while in the feature at 3:00, Charlie Smith and Camperdown cross swords.

Today’s daCosta Cup Schedule:

Spot Valley vs Grange Hill @ Jarrett Park 3:00 pm

Christiana vs Clarendon College @ Kirkvine 3:00 pm

Today’s Manning Cup Schedule:

St George’s vs Holy Trinity @ Constant Spring – 1:00 pm

Charlie Smith and Camperdown @ Constant Spring – 3:00 pm