William Knibb, Cornwall College advance to daCosta Cup quarters
IRWIN, St James — William Knibb Memorial and former champions Cornwall College booked their places in the quarter-finals of the daCosta Cup football competition after wins yesterday as play in Zone A came to a close.
Jayar Skyers scored a brace as William Knibb edged Irwin high 3-2 in Martha Brae while Brandon Timberlake also scored twice for Cornwall College as they cruised to a 3-0 win over Maldon High at Irwin High.
They joined five other schools that had earlier secured their safe passage through to the next round — Frome Technical and Manning’s School from Zone B, Garvey Maceo High and Vere Technical from Zone F and Dinthill Technical from Zone H.
Meanwhile defending champions Clarendon College and Glenmuir High are first and second, respectively, in Zone E after wins over Lennon High and Edwin Allen High, respectively, in their play-off games.
Six more schools can book their spots today when the competition continues with 15 games.
At Martha Brae yesterday, Skyers scored twice and Mark Lewis took his tally to nine goals as William Knibb Memorial rebounded from their surprise loss to Holland High on Tuesday to secure the top spot in Zone A with 18 points.
Goals from Tavin Leslie and Detroy Reid had tied up the scores for Irwin High who finished on 12 points, equalling their best effort in the first round of the competition.
Cornwall College scored all three goals in the first half of their game with Braxton Richards also scoring from the penalty spot as Cornwall College finished with 16 points and extended their run of games without conceding a goal to five.
Clarendon College led 4-0 after the first half in their game before Ewin Allen stormed back with three goals but could not get an equaliser. Clarendon College then found another goal to win 5-3 and are all but eliminate Edwin Allen from the race for place in the next round.
Clarendon College, who had won their first game 3-2, lead the zone with 13 points, one more than Glenmuir High, who had a 1-0 win over Lennon, avenging their 3-2 loss in the first round.
Today, St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) need only a point to top Zone C in what is a three-way race after Ben Francis KO holders B B Coke were eliminated earlier in the week.
STETHS lead with 13 points and face a desperate Lacovia High team who must win to have any chance to advance.
Munro College, meanwhile, will advance with even a loss to B B Coke, if STETHS were to beat or draw against Lacovia High.
Zone D leaders Manchester High and Christiana need only a draw in their game to take both spots, but if one should win, it would leave the door open for Holmwood Technical, who are up against Belair High.
Both leaders are on 13 points but Manchester High have a much bigger goal difference of 23 to Christiana’s 10 with Holmwood on 10 points.
Happy Grove on 10 points and St Thomas Tech on eight are the favourites to advance from Zone G when they take on Seaforth High and Port Antonio High, respectively.
Two points separate the top three schools however, with Happy Grove on 10, St Thomas Tech on eight and Port Antonio High on seven points.
With Dinthill Technical already sure to advance from Zone H, three teams, all on eight points, will be gunning for the other spot.
Ocho Rios High are in second place on goal difference and will play Brown’s Town High; third-place Charlemont High will face York Castle High and fourth-place McGrath High will face St Mary’s High, all games set to start at 3:00 pm.
While the places from Zone B are already decided, leaders Manning’s School and Frome Technical will meet to decide who tops the zone.
Manning’s lead with 13 points, one more than Frome Technical and a draw will be sufficient, but coach Everton Tomlinson will be pushing for another three points.
The teams will be meeting in the first round for the first time in years as despite not being located far from each other in Westmoreland, they played in different zones.
Manning’s have the slightly better statistics going into the game, 15 goals to 14 and are still unbeaten while Frome Technical have a loss against Rusea’s High.
Yesterday’s results
Zone A
Maldon High 0, Cornwall College 3
St. James High 1, Herbert Morrison Tech 1
Irwin High 2, William Knibb High 3
Holland High 3, Spot Valley High 3
Zone E
Lennon High 0, Glenmuir High 1
Clarendon College 5, Edwin Allen 3
Today’s games
Zone B
Rusea’s vs Green Pond @ WesPow Park @ 3:00 pm
Petersfield vs Godfrey Stewart @ Llandilo @ 1:00 pm
Frome vs Manning’s @ Llandilo @ 3:15p m
Zone C
Lacovia High vs STETHS @ STETHS @ 1:00 pm
B B Coke vs Munro College @ STETHS @ 3:15 pm
Zone D
Alston High vs deCarteret College @ Kirkvine @ 1:00 pm
Christiana High vs Manchester High @ Kirkvine @ 3:15 pm
Holmwood Tech vs Belair High @ Manchester High @ 3:15 pm
Zone F
Foga Road High vs Vere Tech @ Foga Road @ 1:00 pm
Old Harbour High vs Garvey Maceo @ Foga Road @ 3:15 pm
Zone G
Seaforth High vs Happy Grove High @ York Oval @ 1:00 pm
Port Antonio High vs St Thomas Technical @ York Oval @ 3:15 pm
Zone H
McGrath High vs St Mary High @ Lynch Park @ 3:00 pm
Brown’s Town High vs Ocho Rios High @ Drax Hall @ 3:00 pm
York Castle High vs Charlemont High @ Dinthill Tech @ 3:00 pm