Last bid to advance today

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:The final set of inter-zone places and Ben Francis Cup KO slots will be up for grabs today when the curtain comes down on the preliminary round of the 2011 ISSA/Gatorade/Digicel daCosta Cup, with the final set of games in all 12 competing zones.

While the inter-zone and Ben Francis Cup KO slots have been fully decided in groups such as zones D and F, in other groups, such as zones B, G, J, one inter-zone slot has been decided while the other is wide open. In some instances, teams will face off with weak opponents to advance, while in other cases, major obstacles are in their way.

In Zone A, where both inter-zone places are up for grabs, former champions St James High (23) will advance with a win against William Knibb (12). Should that happen, the other places will be decided between Cornwall College (20), who will face off with Green Pond (17); and Spot Valley (20), who will take on Irwin High (6).

In Zone B, where champions Rusea's have already won group honours, the other place will be decided between Anchovy and Frome Technical, who are both on 24 points. However, while Frome will have a tame opponent in Merlene Ottey (10), Anchovy face a formidable opponent in unbeaten Rusea's.

In Zone C, where Cedric Titus (20) and Marcus Garvey (18) have secured inter-zone places, the focus will be on the Ben Francis Cup slot. If Cedric Titus beat Brown's Town today, they will top the group. However, should they falter and Marcus Garvey win, then the latter will take the group.

In Zone E, where only a point separates Grange Hill (21), Manning's (20) and Petersfield (20), victory is paramount to all three teams. Interestingly, Manning's and Grange Hill will face off while Petersfield will battle bottom-place Little London (0).

With Manchester High already assured of the Ben Francis KO place from Zone G, the other slot will be up for grabs between Knox (19), who have an outstanding game, and Spaldings (17). Knox will oppose Bellefield (15) while Spaldings (10) will take on Mile Gully.

In Zone H, where Clarendon College (29) and Lennon High (28) are the inter-zone qualifiers, the two teams will square off for the Ben Francis slot. While Clarendon College will advance with a draw, Lennon must win to top the group.

In Zone I, the unbeaten Glenmuir (28) must win against Kemps Hill to surpass current leaders Denbigh High, who have completed their fixtures with 30 points.

With Old Harbour (24) already assured of topping Zone J, Tacius Golding (19) and Dinthill (17) will square off for the other slot. In their first-round meeting, the teams played out a 2-2 draw.

While Zone K is wide open, with Titchfield (16), Buff Bay (16), Port Antonio (14) and Happy Grove (13) all in with a shot, in Zone L, Paul Bogle (14) just need to win against Robert Lightbourne (0) to move ahead of current leaders St Thomas Technical, who have completed their fixture with 15 points.