Rusea's, Grange Hill, Glenmuir in last four

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:Champions Rusea's High, Grange Hill High and Glenmuir High completed the semi-finals line-up for the 2011 ISSA/Gatorade/Digicel daCosta Cup yesterday afternoon after coming away with contrasting results from the competition's final round of quarter-finals games.

Rusea's, who needed a draw to seal their semi-final place and a win to top Group Two, turned in a dazzling performance against out-of-contention Petersfield, spanking them 5-1 in the feature game of the Jarrett Park double-header.

Star striker Brian Brown (2), Keino Williams, substitute Jovan James and skipper Nicodie Haughton got the goals for the 'Russians', who will face-off with Glenmuir in one of next Saturday's semi-final games. Brown's double-strike lifted his season tally to an amazing 34 goals.

"We came here today with the sole intention of topping the group and we did that," said Rusea's coach Anthony 'Follies' Williams. "We are now going home to prepare for the semi-finals, which is the next hurdle before us."

History created

Grange Hill went into their game against Paul Bogle needing a win to advance and created history as their 1-0 win gave them second place in Group Two behind Rusea's and their first trip into a daCosta Cup semi-final.

Romaine Nelson got the all-important goal for Grange Hill, who completed their fixture on six points. Paul Bogle, who entered the game on four points, needed only a draw to advance.

"This is really a special feeling for us as we have never made the daCosta Cup semi-final before," said Grange Hill's coach Dane Warren. "However, now is not the time to celebrate as our aim is to go all the way and win our first daCosta Cup title."

In Group One, former champions Glenmuir took the group's second semi-final place on goal-difference over Frome Technical, despite suffering a 1-0 loss to group winners St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS). Frome had a big 4-1 win against Cedric Titus to join Glenmuir on four points but they fell short of qualifying by a goal.

"We gave it our best shot but we failed by just one goal," said Frome's coach, Marvin Quarrie, whose team scored through Kenneth Cooper, Tevin Williams, Romario Myles and Kevon Blake. "We just have to call it hard luck."

For Glenmuir, their failure to beat STETHS was a double blow, as it not only meant they finished second in the group but they also lost their proud unbeaten record. STETHS, who completed their quarter-final round fixture with maximum nine points, got their all-important goal from Jamal Sinclair.

"We are going to take two days off to rest and then begin our semi-final preparations," said STETHS's coach, Andrew Edwards. "We stumbled at the semi-final last year and we are not going to allow that to happen this year."