Rusea's, St George's seek advantage

WESTERN BUREAU:

Jarrett Park in Montego Bay is expected to be a bubbling cauldron of excitement this afternoon when daCosta Cup champions Rusea's High and Manning Cup champions St George's College square off at 3 o'clock in the first-leg final of the 2011-12 ISSA/Gatorade/ Digicel Olivier Shield, the symbol of all-island schoolboy football supremacy.

While Rusea's, a 10-time winner of the daCosta Cup, will be gunning for a seventh hold on the coveted shield, the St George's College, who have already won the shield 11 times, will be hunting their first-ever Triple Crown, having already won the Manning Cup and Walker Cup this season.

Rusea's, fresh from Saturday's 1-0 win against the gutsy St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) in the daCosta Cup final, should be on a high as the boys should be highly motivated in their quest to emulate their 2002 team, which denied St George's the Olivier Shield back then.

"They (St George's College) are a quality team, but we intend to give a good account of ourselves," said Anthony 'Follies' Williams, who shares coaching duties at Rusea's with the wily Emerson 'Diggy' Henry.

"While we basically have just two days to get ready, the boys understand the task before them and I am sure they will rise to the occasion," Williams added.

Confident team

St George's, who had a long break since spanking Charlie Smith High 3-1 to win the Manning Cup, is a confident team heading into today's game and, according to assistant coach Marcel Gayle, everything is ready and the players are looking forward to the game with high expectations.

"Rusea's looks to be a very good team and Brown (Brian) will probably be a handful, but we a ready and raring to go," said Gayle.

"I know the western fans will be out in their numbers to support Rusea's, but we will not be intimidated, playing before a large crowd is usually a fulfilling experience for us," he added.

Looking at the record of Rusea's this season, it is hard not to be impressed as their only blemish was their penalty shoot-out loss to STETHS in the Ben Francis KO semi-final. In fact, their record of 23 games, 21 wins, one draw and their penalty shoot-out loss, coupled with their 92 goals for and four against, spells quality in every aspect.

St George's College, who have found Jarrett Park to be a fairly happy hunting ground over the years, have been having a dream season to date as, in addition to winning the Manning Cup and the Walker Cup, they amassed an amazing Manning record - playing 14, winning 13 and drawing just one. In addition, they have scored 52 goals and conceded four.

In terms of personnel, Rusea's star striker 'Rambo' Brown, whose has scored 38 goals this season and has again locked up the 'golden boot', which he won last season, is arguably the player with the highest profile coming into the game. With the likes of Anthony Walker, Demar Dohman, Keino Williams, Toreto Gregory, skipper Nicodie Haughton and goalkeeper Richard Trench expected to provide quality support, the 'Russians' should be buzzing.

St George's, who have won the respect of many pundits, are also quite formidable on paper. In fact, many feel that with players such as star striker Kendon Anderson, skipper Oshane Jenkins, Romario Jones, André Lewis, Cordell Benbow and goalkeeper Nico Campbell, Ryan Miller and Richard Garvey, they are unstoppable.