Cedric Titus's Terron Eccleston (right) tries to get away from William Knibb's Jaheem Brown in Friday's ISSA daCosta Cup Zone D first round game played in Martha Brae, Trelawny. Eccleston scored a brace to lead Cedric Titus to a 2-0 win, handing William Knibb their first loss of the season. (Photo: Paul Reid)
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Four schools will be seeking to extend perfect records when the ISSA daCosta Cup football competition continues on Monday, weather permitting, with a round of games that will also see the start of the return round for a number of schools.
Manchester High will be going after a sixth straight win when they play away to Belair High; Cedric Titus High and Alphansus Davis High are going after their fifth win, while Glenmuir High are seeking a fourth straight in a rescheduled game against Vere Technical.
Manchester High are one of three schools to have won all games played without conceding a goal, Mannings School and Alphansus Davis High being the others, while former champions Cornwall College and St Elizabeth Technical have also not allowed a goal.
Manchester High are going after a third straight win over Belair, who had beaten them 5-1 in the first round last season. Since then, Manchester High have won 1-0 and 3-0 and will be favourites to win on Monday. Fresh off their 2-0 win over William Knibb Memorial on Friday, Cedric Titus will be confident of a win over Spot Valley High after taking the first round game 3-1, the only goal they have conceded in the four games they have played.
Alphansus Davis will play away to Holmwood Technical in a game that was rained out on Saturday as they hope to get back on level terms with Christiana High, who have won their fifth straight game and are sitting on top of the points tables in Zone G.
Glenmuir High were leading Vere Technical 3-1 on Saturday when their game was blown off due to lightning and should be able to complete the victory on Monday and get back on level terms with defending champions Garvey Maceo High at the top of Zone I.
Also Monday, Central High and many-time champions Clarendon College, both locked on 10 points each in Zone H, will meet at Effortville in a game that could decide the zone winners. Central High are unbeaten against Clarendon College over the last two seasons.
McGrath High, a finalist last season, will hope to rebound against Charlemont High after losing to Dinthill Technical on Saturday, ending their perfect start at three games. McGrath High had won the first round game against Charlemont High 1-0 and are seeking to sweep their first round series for the second straight season and are unbeaten against them in the last three years.
Zone A leaders Cornwall College and Maldon High, separated by a point, will be hoping to extend their run at the top when they face Green Pond High and St James High, respectively, in second round games.
Cornwall College had beaten Green Pond 6-0 in the first round and will see the return of top striker Carlondo Morris, who sat out a red card suspension in their 2-0 win over Herbert Morrison on Friday.
Maldon High had rallied from 0-2 down to beat St James High 3-2 in their first game and will be playing at home on Monday. Rusea’s High and Frome Technical are also seeking back-to-back wins when they host Anchovy High and Knockalva Technical, respectively in Zone B.
Monday games:
Irwin High vs Herbert Morrison — Irwin High
Maldon High vs St James High — Maldon
Green Pond High vs Cornwall College — Green Pond
Frome Tech vs Anchovy High — Frome
Rusea’s High vs Knockalva Tech — Collin Miller Complex
Cambridge High vs Green Island — Jarrett Park
Spot Valley High vs Cedric Titus High — Spot Valley
Muschett High vs Troy High — Muschett
Belair High vs Manchester High — Brooks Park
Cross Keys High vs Mt St Joseph High — Cross Keys
May Day High vs deCarteret College — May Day
Holmwood Tech vs Alphansus Davis — Holmwood
Central High vs Clarendon College — Effortville
Lennon High vs Claude McKay High — Lennon
Glenmuir High vs Vere Technical — Glenmuir
Denbigh High vs Foga Road — Denbigh
Charlemont High vs McGrath High — Charlemont
Tacius Golding High vs Old Harbour High — MOE Region 6