Cornwall in worrisome position

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau: Except for a few places to be settled due to rescheduled games, the final inter-zone places in the 2010 ISSA/Pepsi/Digicel daCosta Cup should be decided this afternoon when the curtain comes down on the competition's preliminary round, with a full slate of matches, all starting at 3:30.

With top-flight contenders such as reigning champions St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS), former champions Rusea's, St James High and Munro College already listed among the early qualifiers, other former champions such as Clarendon College, Glenmuir, Herbert Morrison, Frome Technical, Cornwall College and Godfrey Stewart will all be gunning to join the real contenders today.

In Zone A, a most intriguing situation looms as Cornwall College (13), Spot Valley (14) and Muschett (12) are all in with a shot at joining early qualifier St James High.

A win for Spot Valley against William Knibb would see them advancing. However, should Spot Valley lose, the winner of the Cornwall College versus Muschett match would move forward.

Over in Zone C, where Marcus Garvey have already advanced, second-place Brown's Town (15) will qualify with a win against Cedric Titus. However, should Brown's Town lose and Ocho Rios (11) - which have two outstanding games - beat York Castle, they would be in with a good chance of advancing.

zone d tussle

In Zone D, there is yet another interesting scenario as joint second-place teams St Mary High and Annotto Bay, both on 19 points from nine games, will square off to see which of them will join early qualifiers St Mary Technical (22) in the inter-zone round. Should the game end in a draw, St Mary High would advance by virtue of their superior goal difference.

In Zone E, Godfrey Stewart and Grange Hill, in joint second place on 18 points, face contrasting scenarios. Godfrey Stewart must beat early qualifiers Manning's (23) and hope that Cinderella team Maud McLeod beat or draw with Grange Hill, as any other result will send Grange Hill marching on to the inter-zone phase.

Over in Zone G, where Manchester High (28) have already qualified, second-place Spalding High (20) and third-place Knox (19) cannot afford to falter against Manchester High and Christiana, respectively, as doing so could be fatal.

With Clarendon College (21), which have three outstanding games; Lennon (15), also with three outstanding games; and Edwin Allen (18), with two outstanding games, still in the hunt, Zone H is still too close to call.

However, today's games, which will see Clarendon squaring off with Edwin Allen and Lennon tackling Vere, could go a long way towards untangling the web.

Glenmuir (22) should easily cop one of the Zone I inter-zone slot as Tacius Golding should prove easy pickings for them. However, the other place in the group could prove quite dicey as Garvey Maceo and Denbigh High, with two and three outstanding games, respectively, are still in contention.

Old Harbour (17) should join early qualifiers Charlemont (19) in the inter-zone round, as they are expected to beat out of contention Ewarton; while Buff Bay (13) and Titchfield (12) are favoured to seal the two Zone K places with wins against Fair Prospect (6) and Port Antonio (11). 

Today's Games

Zone A: William Knibb vs Spot Valley at Martha Brae, St James vs Green Pond at Jarrett Park, Muschett vs Cornwall at Wakefield

Zone B: Hopewell vs Frome at Knockalva, Herbert Morrison vs Maldon at Herbert Morrison

Zone C: Brown's Town vs Cedric Titus at Addison Park, Ocho Rios vs York Castle at Drax Hall, Albert Town vs Marcus Garvey at Albert Town

Zone D: Annotto Bay vs St Mary High at Westmoreland Oval, Brimmervale vs Islington at Brimmervale, St Mary Technical vs Iona at Richmond Prison Farm

Zone E: Godfrey Stewart vs Mannings at Godfrey Stewart, Little London vs Petersfield at Little London, Grange Hill vs Maud McLeod at Belle Isle

Zone F: Mile Gully vs Lacovia at Mile Gully, STETHS vs Maggotty at STETHS, DeCarteret vs Munro at Munro

Zone G: Porus vs Alston at Porus, Knox vs Christiana at Knox, Manchester vs Spaldings at Manchester

Zone H: Vere vs Lennon at Vere, Claude McKay vs Thompson Town at Claude McKay, Edwin Allen vs Clarendon College at Edwin Allen

Zone I: Kemps Hill vs Central at Kemps Hill, Glenmuir vs Tacius Golding at Brancourt, Denbigh vs Garvey Maceo at Denbigh

Zone J: Old Harbour vs Ewarton at Old Harbour, McGrath vs Charlemont at McGrath

Zone K: Titchfield vs Fair Prospect at Titchfield, Buff Bay vs Port Antonio at Buff Bay

Zone L: Yallahs vs Paul Bogle at Yallahs, Morant Bay vs St Thomas Technical at Morant Bay