Western Bureau:

After almost ten consecutive weeks of non-stop action, the 2009 ISSA/Pepsi/ Digicel daCosta Cup is now on a one-week break, which is offering the four remaining teams a chance to rest, relax and recuperate ahead of Saturday's semi-finals.

In the semi-finals, reigning champions St James High will take on the robust Manchester High in one semi-final at Jarrett Park, Montego Bay, while in the other game at Santa Cruz, in St Elizabeth, St Elizabeth Tech-nical High (STETHS) face the free-flowing Garvey Maceo.

It's anybody's guess who will advance on Saturday as it is difficult to give any of the teams an advantage although St James won Group One ahead of STETHS and Garvey Maceo finished ahead of Manchester High in Group Two.

Fairly good season

After what has been a fairly good season to date, champions St James High should not have much to worry about during this week's break. With their daCosta Cup record of 13 wins, two draws and just one defeat in sixteen games, many see them as safe bets to retain their title.

"We will be using the one week to rest more than anything else," said St James High's coach, Pastor Hugh Solomon. "We have some players who were carrying minor injuries so the time-off will give them a chance to recuperate."

After dominating Zone F of the preliminary round and then pushing on successfully through the inter-zone and quarter-final round of the daCosta Cup, Manchester High must be considered serious contenders for their first daCosta Cup title.

Hard-fought win

After Saturday's hard-fought 2-1 final quarter-final win against Marcus Garvey, Manchester High's coach Barry Watson was full of praise for the character of his team and the way they handled what was a must win game. (Note: Manchester advanced to the semi-finals with six points. Not four as previously reported. They lost 2-0 to Garvey Maceo but defeated Spaldings 4-1, before a second win last Saturday.)

"I love the determination I saw out there," said coach Watson. "We are now looking forward to our semi-final game against St James High with much confidence ... I can promise you that we will be ready."

With thirteen wins and three defeats in their daCosta Cup campaign this season, Manchester High should have no reason to be fearful of stepping into Jarrett Park against champions St James High on Saturday and coming away with a positive result.

Having benefited from Old Harbour High's withdrawal, which saw them earning an inter-zone spot after initially being eliminated, 2007 cham-pions Garvey Maceo are now the competition's most domi-nant team. Having conquered their group in both the inter-zone and quarter-final phases coach Jeffrey Hewitt must now be eyeing some silverware.

"We have been playing well and getting good results but we cannot afford to be complacent," said Hewitt. "We were out at the end of the preliminary round but we luckily got back in so our aim is to make the best use of the opportunity."

Top form

While their preliminary record of five wins, three draws and two defeats look somewhat tame, with their three wins and one draw in the inter-zone round; and two wins and a draw in the quarter-finals, Garvey Maceo are clearly in top form at this time.

If their last two games, which saw them spanking Frome Technical 6-0 and the previously unbeaten Glenmuir 2-0 is anything to go by, STETHS should have no fear battling Garvey Maceo on their home turf.

Based on their recent season record of eleven wins, two draws and three defeats in 16 games plus the advantage of playing their semi-final game on home turf, STETHS could well be the most comfortable team during this one-week break.