Intriguing battle for inter-zone spots

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

With the preliminary phase of the 2010 ISSA/Pepsi/Digicel daCosta Cup football drawing to a close, the battle for inter-zone places remain a most intriguing affair as with just two rounds of matches and a few rescheduled games to be played, only three of the 26 available slots have been taken.

Rusea's, with a 100 per cent win record - seven wins from seven starts - in zone B; defending champions St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS), with six wins and two draws in zone F; and Zone C front-runners Marcus Garvey Technical, with seven wins and one draw in eight games are the teams that have already qualified.

Interestingly, Rusea's, who cannot be caught for zonal honours with their unassailable 21 points; and the Rohan Alexander-coached Marcus Garvey Technical, whose 22 points cannot be overtaken, are also assured of the lone Ben Francis Knock-Out slot from their respective zones.

TAKING OFF THE PRESSURE

"Qualifying early takes some of the pressure off the team as we have basically achieved our first objective, which was to win the zone and qualify for the Ben Francis KO," said Anthony 'Follies' Williams, who shares coaching duties with the veteran Emerson 'Diggy' Henry at Rusea's.

"Our aim now is to guard against complacency in the remaining group games," added Williams.

While Rusea's, Marcus Garvey Technical and STETHS can commence their inter-zone preparations, at least six other teams are just a whisker away from joining them. They are zone A front-runners St James High, zone D leaders St Mary Technical, zone F's Munro College, zone K's surprise package, Buff High School and the zone L duo of Paul Bogle High and St Thomas Technical.

St James High (17), the 2008 champions, just need to repeat their first-round win over William Knibb which they previously spanked 4-1 to become the first zone A qualifier. The scenario is much the same for zone D leaders St Mary Technical and zone F second-place team Munro College, which only need to repeat first round wins over Brimmer Vale (5-1) and Lacovia (1-0), respectively.

ONE WIN NEEDED

In the case of zone L's Paul Bogle and St Thomas Technical, they are just a win away from taking the two inter-zone places from their group.

However, while Rusea's, STETHS and Marcus Garvey have achieved their inter-zone aspirations, other high-profile teams like the competition's most successful, Cornwall College, and 2007 champions Garvey Maceo, are precariously placed and cannot survive another defeat.

"We can still qualify for the inter-zone," said Cornwall College's coach, Steve Bucknor, who guided his alma mata to the 1982 and 1983 titles. "We just need to win our next two games."

Among the teams that are already out of the reckoning are Green Pond High, which created quite a stir when they spanked St James High 4-2 in their first-round clash; and Lacovia High, which had a fantastic season in 2008 when they advanced from their group ahead of perennial contenders Munro College.