daCosta Cup groups impossible to call

THE GROUPINGS in this season’s ISSA/WATA daCosta Cup are not throwing up any clues about who could be replacing deposed champions Clarendon College.

After a second delay to the start of the quarter-final round of competition on account of rains associated with Tropical Storm Rafael, fans have had to wait to see just what the teams in the final eight have to offer.

The daCosta Cup, at this stage, is broken down into two groups, A and B, with the top two from each going to the semi-finals.

In Group A, Glenmuir High School, last year’s beaten finalists and Champions Cup winners, have looked likely successors all season, but will be tested by some good teams.

Joining them in Group A are St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS), who seem to have the answers to every question asked of them this season, as well as Frome Technical, who have been eager to show they belong at this stage.

McGrath High School are also breathing rarified air and while they haven’t really been champing at the bit, they are tough.

In the round of 16, they showed they are not to be underestimated, earning hard-fought wins against Manchester and Denbigh, only losing to a Central High School, who can be counted as title contenders this season.

Speaking of Central, they find themselves in a Group B that, for want of a less common phrase, is not for the faint of heart.

Central, who, in the past, have shown themselves capable of producing good football, are in a group alongside Garvey Maceo, Munro, and Ocho Rios.

Ocho Rios are new to this stage of the competition but, in the round of 16, they showed they may not be weaker than the other three teams they face.

While Ocho Rios are in the group by virtue of finishing second in a group that included Glenmuir, who beat them handsomely, their performance against Dinthill showed they have the guts to hurt any of the opponents before them.

In that game against Dinthill, they came from two goals down to eke out a 2-2 draw that saw them making history.

More performances of that nature are not beyond them.

Munro have looked the part of title challengers all season, and while they, along with Central, look the favourites to leave the group, they also have to be wary of Garvey Maceo.

Garvey Maceo earned draws against STETHS and Kemps Hill, teams they were not favoured against, before putting both in a must-win situation against each other to make it out of the round of 16.

STETHS eventually topped the group but could not be said to have done so convincingly, with Garvey Maceo showing themselves to be dangerous customers.

Action in the daCosta Cup is set to resume on Friday.