Lacovia High will be seeking a first-ever ISSA daCosta Cup football semi-final berth when they take on McGrath High in one of four quarter-final matches this afternoon.

Lacovia High lead Group B ahead of Glenmuir High on goal-difference.

Glenmuir, who along with Munro College from Group A, will also be going after consecutive wins in the round to secure a place in the top four.

The Willard Douglas-coached Lacovia defeated Ocho Rios High 3-0 on Wednesday, and will now face McGrath, who had lost to Glenmuir.

The closest Lacovia have come to the daCosta Cup top four was back-to-back qualification for the quarter-finals in the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

National junior player Tyraun Bembridge has led the Lacovia High team this season. Lacovia are up against McGrath High, who must get at least a draw to keep their hopes of advancing alive.

McGrath High lost all three games at this stage last season and will hope to do better. That will almost certainly require top scorer Jimm Mitchell, who has carried McGrath the last two seasons, to step up.

Ocho Rios are back in the quarter-finals for the first time since 2014 when they were semi-finalists. But they are in a hole after their loss to Lacovia and will have their backs against the wall when they host Glenmuir at Drax Hall.

Glenmuir, who are seen by many as title favourites, have run roughshod throughout the season so far. And after losing in last season’s final on penalty kicks, they will have motivation to go all the way this season.

Orel Miller has been on a goalscoring spree and is expected to again be at the helm for Glenmuir.

Munro College could avoid a possible scramble for a semi-final place next week with a win. They are also expected to have revenge on their minds against Denbigh High, who eliminated them from the Ben Francis Cup.

Denbigh will return to the field for the first time since Tuesday’s game against Cornwall College was interrupted by lightning and resulted in their players Lashawn Barnaby and Omarion Wright being taken to seek medical attention.

That game, which Cornwall College led 1-0 late in the first half, is to resume Monday afternoon.

Munro escaped with a 1-0 win over Kemps Hill High on Tuesday and another win would see them back in the semi-finals for the first time in over 20 years.

Kajaye Williams has been the go-to player for Munro, along with Akel Vespry.

Cornwall College and Kemps Hill shared wins last season, each on home turf. But Kemps Hill edged the former champions for a place in the semis.

Cornwall are expected to welcome some players returning from suspension, as well as striker Carlondo Morris who missed their last two games as he was part of the national Under-17 squad.

Cornwall won their three games in the round of 16 by a 14-0 aggregate, but now they face a Kemps Hill team that is going after back-to-back trips to the daCosta Cup semi-finals.

— Paul A Reid

SATURDAY’S GAMES

Ocho Rios vs Glenmuir @ Drax Hall

Lacovia vs McGrath @ STETHS

Munro vs Denbigh @ Munro

Kemps Hill vs Cornwall @ Glenmuir

(Games set to start 3:00 pm)