Charlemont, Old Harbour in massive showdown

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

With three Ben Francis Knockout slots and seven inter-zone spots still to be decided, the extended preliminary round of the 2010 ISSA/Pepsi/ Digicel daCosta Cup rural area senior schoolboy football competition will continue this afternoon with seven rescheduled games in zones J, K and I, all starting at 3:30.

Some of the most interesting matchups include the Zone J matchup between inter-zone qualifiers Charlemont High School and second place Old Harbour, the two Zone K games and the Garvey Maceo vs Glenmuir and Central versus Denbigh clashes in Zone I.

With two rescheduled games against each other, leaders Charlemont High (22) and second-place Old Harbour (20) will both be gunning for victory in their quest for the group's lone Ben Francis KO slot. While a win for Charlemont would lift them to an unassailable 25 points, victory for Old Harbour would leave the second of the rescheduled games to decide the group winner.

To date, the unbeaten Charlemont have played eight games, winning seven and drawing one, while Old Harbour are also unbeaten, having had six wins and two draws in eight outings. Interestingly, Charlemont have scored 26 goals and conceded four, while Old Harbour have netted 22 and given up seven.

Inter-zone places

In Zone K, where leaders Buff Bay (13),Titchfield (12) and Port Antonio (11) are all in with a shot on copping the group's two inter-zone places and sole Ben Francis KO slot, each of them also face the prospect of not advancing, based on the result from the games featuring Titchfield against the out of contention Fair Prospect, and Buff Bay against Port Antonio.

A victory for Buff Bay would see them winning the group, regardless of the result in the game involving Titchfield. However, should Port Antonio beat Buff Bay and Titchfield beat Fair Prospect, the Titchfield team would win the group. Conversely, if Titchfield lose and Port Antonio win, Port Antonio would win the group.

Inter-zone round

In Zone I, while Glenmuir are already assured of both their inter-zone place and the group's Ben Francis slot, they could have a big say in deciding which team joins them in the inter-zone round. Should they beat Garvey Maceo (18), the door would be open wide for Denbigh (15), which have three outstanding games to Garvey Maceo's two. However, a win for Garvey Maceo would significantly strengthen their bid.

With more rescheduled games on tomorrow and more places to be decided, the Ben Francis KO, which was slated to kick-off tomorrow, has been pushed back to Thursday.

With only zones H, J and K to be decided, the teams already assured of Ben Francis KO places are daCosta Cup champions St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS), Glenmuir, St James High, Paul Bogle, Rusea's, St Mary Technical, Marcus Garvey, Mannings and Manchester High. The other inter-zone qualifiers are St Thomas Technical, Grange Hill, Munro College, Brown's Town High, St Mary High, Charlemont, Old Harbour and Spot Valley High.

Games on

Zone I:- Garvey Maceo vs Glenmuir at Garvey Maceo, Tacius Golding vs Kemps Hill at Kemps Hill, Central vs Denbigh High at Four Paths

Zone J:- Dinthill vs McGrath at Dinthill, Old Harbour vs Charlemont at Old Harbour

Zone K:- Titchfield vs Fair Prospect at Carder Park, Bog Walk vs Port Antonio at Lynch Park