STETHS aiming for sole leadership

• Old Harbour, Ewarton in big clash

Adrian Frater, News Editor

WESTERN BUREAU:

St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) will get a chance of taking leadership of Zone F in the 2011/12 ISSA/Gatorade/Digicel daCosta Cup schoolboy football competition this afternoon, when they engage Decarteret College in one of five scheduled games.

In the other games down for contention, Ewarton High School will lock horns with arch-rivals Old Harbour High and Charlemont battle Bog Walk in two Zone J games, while in Zone K, Port Antonio High and Fair Prospect, who are tied on points, will square off.

The red-hot unbeaten STETHS, which have played one game less than arch-rivals Munro College, with whom they share joint leadership of the group on 19 points, should get the better of DeCarteret, albeit playing away from home. In the first round game STETHS won 5-0.

"Our first objective is qualify for the Ben Francis KO and to do so we must win the zone," said STETHS' coach Andrew Edwards. "We are doing well so far and our aim is to keep that momentum."

In addition to their impressive record of six wins and a draw in seven outings, the free flowing STETHS are the competition's most prolific team with 42 goals for and one against.

The Zone J top-of-the-table clash between Old Harbour and Ewarton High, which share joint leadership of the group with Tacius Golding - all on 12 points - should be a battle royal as the teams strive to separate themselves in the battle for the group's two inter-zone places.

Old Harbour, which have played one game less than both Ewarton and Tacius Golding, will be defending precious unbeaten records, having secured three wins and three draws in their six games. Interestingly, Old Harbour have scored 12 goals and conceded two, while their opponents have 10 goals for and 11 against.

In the second of the two Zone J games, the Bog Walk team, which is slightly off the pace on eight points, is poised to roll back into strong contention at the expense of Charlemont High, which have only managed to garner a mere three points from six outings.

With their seasons not going as well as they would have expected, both Port Antonio High and Fair Prospect High, who are on six points each, will be gunning for a win as they seek to keep a close tab on their other group contenders Buff Bay (13), Happy Grove (nine), Titchfield High (seven) and Annotto Bay (seven), who are all ahead of them heading into the second round.