Walters

Western Bureau:

The 2009 ISSA/Pepsi/Digicel rural daCosta Cup senior schoolboy football league, which went into a two-week break to facilitate play in the Ben Francis Knockout, will resume this afternoon with 12 first-round games in the competition's inter-zone round, which is being contested by 24 teams divided into six groups.

With only the six group winners and the two best second-place finishers slated to advance from this round on to the quarter-final phase, all the teams should be gunning for a winning start as an early defeat, or even a draw, could ultimately prove to be an insurmountable setback.

Based on the standings of the teams - which all got into the inter-zone by virtue of finishing first and second in their respective zones in the preliminary round - high-quality action is anticipated all around. At the venues where double-headers are scheduled the games will be played at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

In terms of interest, the Group One game at the Frome Sports Ground in Westmoreland between reigning champions St James High and 2003 champions Frome Technical; and the Carder Park Group Five clash between newly-crowned Ben Francis KO champions Glenmuir and Zone L runners-up Port Antonio High, should take top billing.

Insofar as the Glenmuir team is concerned, they should be flush with confidence after spanking Munro 3-0 in last Saturday's Ben Francis KO final in St Elizabeth. In fact, the team's coach, Patrick 'Jackie' Walters, says his Glenmuir team has the capacity to perform even better.

"We played poorly in the Ben Francis semi-final and then gave an improved performance in the final against Munro," said Walters. "If we can perform consistently well I expect us to do well in the daCosta Cup as well."

After relinquishing the Ben Francis title, St James are adamant that they will not allow the daCosta Cup to slip and will be looking to reassert themselves against Frome. However, they should be cognisant that even last season when they emerged double champions, Frome had a 3-2 inter-zone win against them.

"The players are extremely disappointed that they did not retain the Ben Francis title and they are determined to hang onto the daCosta Cup," said Pastor Hugh Solomon, St James' coach. "The players have refocused and are ready to move beyond our Ben Francis semi-final loss to Munro."

For Garvey Maceo, who were initially eliminated after the preliminary round but reinstated after Zone 1 runner-up Old Harbour High withdrew from the competition, will be aiming to celebrate their good fortune when they take on Zone L champions Paul Bogle in a Group Six game at York Oval.

Munro College, which lost 0-3 to Glenmuir in the Ben Francis KO final, should be gunning to rebound against Zone H runners-up, Clarendon College in their game at Jamalco. However, based on the hype around the Clarendon team, beating them will not be easy, especially if they report in top form.