CLARENDON, Jamaica – Denbigh High thinks they have a date with destiny Tuesday when they take on Clarendon College in the semi-final of the ISSA Ben Francis Cup, the second game of a double header at Glenmuir High, set to start at 3:15pm.

Denbigh, in their first under-19 football semi-final, are the only team playing Tuesday that have not won the title before but this has not dampened their confidence.

In the first game set to start at 1:00pm, six-time champions St Elizabeth Technical (STETHS) will face 2006 winners Frome Technical as the schools battle for a place in the December 7 final.

Denbigh and Clarendon will be meeting for the third time this year after sharing 2-1 wins in the first round and Denbigh High’s coach Garfield Carney says they have learned from both games and are “confident and motivated.”

Despite losing their opening day game played at the Montego Bay Sports Complex back in early September, Carney was claiming ‘victory’ even then and backed it up with a win in the Zone H play-off to book their place in the round of 32.

“This is the biggest game for Denbigh High,” he told the Jamaica Observer on Monday, adding “but we are relaxed and confident, we have no injury concerns and no card problem and we have a strong mindset going into the game.”

One player Denbigh did not have at the start of the season, Lashawn Barnaby has been making the difference, scoring almost at will and leading from the front as they beat Alphansus Davis High in the first round and then the favoured Munro College in the quarter-finals.

Clarendon College will go into the game as favourites in some quarters, facing a third straight Clarendon opponent after wins over Kemps Hill High and Central High, the latter on penalty kicks.

The four-time champions had used a young team in their first round game but will be mindful of the threat that Denbigh High will bring to Tuesday’s game.

Both coaches in the first game are also confident and looking forward to the game. Frome Technical’s Cleighton Stephens thinks their close loss in last year’s final will push them to get back to the decider.

“We know how to get to the final,” he told the Jamaica Observer, “now we have to get there and win it.”

Despite a number of his players suffering from the flu, he said they were eager to return to Glenmuir High where they had beaten Happy Grove High 4-0 in the semi-finals last year.

STETHS’ Omar Wedderburn will be hoping to avoid back-to-back semi-final losses, saying “semi-final games are always the hardest”, but will be confident after getting by Cornwall College 9-8 in sudden death penalties after playing a man short from the 38th minute in their quarter-final game last week.

STETHS will be without Jevorn Wright who was sent off against Cornwall College but Wedderburn said they have to move on without him.

“We can’t look back, have to move forward, he did his part to get us here and we are up and running now.”

Games scheduled Tuesday –
Frome Technical vs STETHS- 1:00pm
Clarendon College vs Denbigh High- 3:15pm