Manchester High bow into action

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

With Saturday's opening day, which saw champions St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) battling to a 1-1 draw with Lacovia High and St James High blanking Spot Valley High 2-0 now history, the 2010 ISSA/Pepsi/Digicel daCosta Cup will continue this afternoon at 3:30 p.m., with action in three zones.

The games, which should give an indication as to the teams that are likely to make a significant impact in the race for interzone places, will feature teams from zones G, H and J. Among the teams that will be on show are last year's beaten finalist Manchester High School and former champions Dinthill Technical High School.

Early season interest

While all the games should generate a fair amount of good early-season interest, the Zone G clash between Manchester High, which campaigned in Zone I last year and Christiana High should be quite interesting, as over the years these teams have been consistent front-runners in their respective zones.

Last year, Christiana High School, playing with a young team, did reasonably well in finishing fourth in Zone G behind the likes of Spalding High, Knox College and the Edwin Allen team, which will be campaigning in Zone H this season. With that experience behind them, they are expected to show significant improvements this year.

Two-time champion Dinthill Technical, which flattered to deceive last year when they dominated Zone J, winning 10 of their 12 games and drawing the other two, will no doubt be gunning for a rollicking start against perennial foe Glengoffe High team. In their meetings last year, the first game ended 2-2 and Dinthill won the second game 3-2.

Based on the competition's format, the top-two teams in each of the 12 competing zones will advance to the interzone phase. The zone winners will qualify for the Ben Francis Knock-Out Competition.

Today's Game

Zone G

Manchester vs Christiana at Manchester High, Knox College vs Alston High at Knox College, Porus vs Cross Keys at Porus Community Centre

Zone H

Claude McKay vs Lennon at Claude McKay, Edwin Allen vs Thompson Town at Edwin Allen

Zone J

Dinthill vs Glengoffe at Dinthill, Old Harbour vs Charlemont at Soya Oval, Bog Walk vs Ewarton at Bog Walk