BY PAUL A REID

Observer writer

Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth — The first title of the ISSA/LIME football season will be decided today when three-time defending champions St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) take on Manchester High, who are in their second Ben Francis Knockout final in three years in what is expected to be an explosive encounter at the St Elizabeth Technical Sports Complex, starting at 3:00 pm.

STETHS will be seeking to win an unprecedented fourth-straight title while extending their record number of consecutive wins to 12 games.

The game was originally set to be played at the Montego Bay Sports Complex, but, in a twist that left football minds wondering, the Manchester High Principal Jasford Gabriel asked that the game be played at the STETHS home ground, which is within close proximity of Mandeville, their home base.

Maybe uppermost in Gabriel’s mind is their four-game losing streak against STETHS in big games played in Montego Bay, including the 2011 Ben Francis KO final where they lost 1-2.

The game will feature the explosive offence of STETHS that has accounted for 55 goals, including six in their two previous games in the Ben Francis against Manchester High’s defence that has given up one goal in 13 games as they won all three Knockout games by 1-0 margins.

While he said he hoped they would have scored more goals Manchester’s coach Sheldon Davis told the Jamaica Observer yesterday he was confident they will do what it takes to win their first major football title today.

“One goal is never enough against a team like STETHS, but we have done a lot of work in creating chances,” Davis said, before adding that they were not conceding any goals.

Manchester have not conceded a goal in 12 games played after a 1-1 draw in their opening game on September 11.

STETHS’ always confident coach Omar Wedderburn said they were not relying on their home field advantage as that could lead to complacency.

Both coaches agreed that 90 minutes might not be enough to decide the champions today, but they were ready to go as long as it takes to lift the trophy.