LINSTEAD, St Catherine — Two top-of-the-table clashes will highlight today’s second and penultimate round of matches in the ISSA/Flow daCosta Cup quarter-finals that are expected to match last Wednesday’s explosive start.

Four former champions will be seeking a second straight win as the race for places in the semi-finals intensifies with the last set of matches set for next Wednesday.

Only the winners of the four groups will advance, and all eight of today’s games will be vitally important to the ambitions of the teams.

Rusea’s High and Dinthill Technical were upset winners over Glenmuir High and defending champions Clarendon College, respectively, last Wednesday, and will meet in Group S at Dinthill in Linstead.

St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) and Vere Technical will meet at STETHS Sports Complex in Santa Cruz in an important daCosta Cup game for the first time in decades after both teams bullied the competition in the 1970s and ’80s.

Also today, dark horses Paul Bogle High and Lacovia High will seek second wins in Group P, while Group S is still wide open with both games last week ending in draws.

Clarendon College and former winners Glenmuir High, who met in one semi-final last year, are in a must-win clash in Group S at Juici Field if they are to avoid three straight losses as they followed up losses last week with losses in the Flow Super Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.

Coming into the quarter-final, Group S was seen as the most competitive, the so called ‘group of death’, with four former champions and three semi-finalists from last year squaring off, but Rusea’s and Dinthill, runners up in the respective Inter-Zone rounds, are setting the pace.

Rusea’s seem to be peaking at the right moment with 10 goals in their last two games, but Dinthill have outdone them with 13 goals, led by Rodave Murray, who leads the competition with nine goals since the end of the first round.

Dushane Beckford scored a double for Rusea’s in their win over Glenmuir in Montego Bay and will lead the attack along with Javon Barnes and Kristoff Young.

STETHS should have home advantage over a Vere Technical team that has reached the last eight for the first time in more than a decade, and will be looking to spring a surprise.

After a slow start, where they struggled in their first-round zone, STETHS appear to be back to the juggernauts that have qualified for 21 semi-finals and finals in the last six years, including five Ben Francis KO and a daCosta Cup titles.

Except for their loss in the quarter-finals of the Flow Super Cup to St Jago on Saturday, the STETHS offence has finally started to produce, with Michael Kerr and Shawn Genus combining for 13 goals in the last two rounds.

Lacovia High have surprised most this year and will be seeking to return to the semi-finals for the first time since 2008 when they made the top four for the first time.

Today they travel to Jarrett Park to face a St James High team desperate for three points, while trying to avoid three losses on the run.

Lacovia High are coming off an impressive 2-1 win over Manchester High last week and despite playing away from home will start favourites to beat St James today based on form.

After scoring all of St James’ goals in the Inter-Zone round, Neil Clarke has gone cold, and if St James are to revive their hopes, must rediscover his scoring touch along with Radcliff Dawkins.

Paul Bogle High, who edged St James High last week, will go to a wounded Manchester High team that has cooled off after a red-hot start, where they scored 68 goals in 10 games, all wins.

Since the first round they have managed just four goals in four games and have lost twice over the period.

Group Q looks on paper to be the most wide open and both draws also proved that, and today teams will be seeking to stake a claim for a top-four spot.

Petersfield have not won since beating Cornwall College two weeks ago, but have the potential to explode with the likes of Maliki Reid, who has scored five goals in the Inter-Zone round, and Akiel Brown.

Port Antonio High will have home advantage at Carder Park, as will Seaforth over Lennon at York Oval.