1 month ago
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FROME TECHNICAL High School were beaten in the Ben Francis Cup final a year ago, and the loss still stings.
Today, as big showdowns among household names take centre stage in the competition’s quarterfinal round – four 3:00 p.m. games across the island – Frome are not only eyeing a way back to the final, but are looking at using their matchup against Manchester High School at the St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) Sports Complex as a way to sooth the wounds of a terrible ISSA/WATA daCosta Cup quarterfinal round.
Frome finished bottom of Group A, with Glenmuir and McGrath the two teams to qualify for the semi-final despite coming into the final eight with good pedigree.
Frome lost to Glenmuir in a 4-3 cracker of a game to begin the quarterfinals, and with the latter’s favourite tag, they would have still had high hopes of making it to the semi-finals.
However, STETHS would dismiss them 3-1 to send them out of the daCosta Cup before McGrath’s 4-0 thrashing left them in an even more deplorable state.
Still, Frome coach Ceighton Stephens sees redemption on the cards.
“We still have a chance to hoist the silverware. We have been preparing for it since the last couple of days. Our aim is to win the game before penalties. They want this win. They are not focused on what happened last year. They just want to play in the finals again this year and win it all,” Stephens said.
What is at stake for Frome is no secret for Andrew Edwards, Manchester’s third coach this season.
“We know we are going up against the beaten finalists from last year. We know that they are a formidable team and that they will put up a strong fight. They just got knocked out of the daCosta Cup, which will be a huge disappointment for them adjusting. This will be their hurrah, so to speak, and we have no other option but a competitive game, but we believe we are up for it,” said Edwards.
In another big clash today, STETHS, who lost out on a final-four place in the daCosta Cup, have nothing remaining in the way of redemption save for getting one over on longtime rivals Cornwall College at the Llandilo Community Centre in Westmoreland.
Cornwall had to be perfect in a penalty shoot-out win over Happy Grove to make the Ben Francis quarters, but any game between these two can have no underdogs, and there are usually fireworks.
Munro College were hoping to break a 60-year drought when they got going in the daCosta Cup but found Ocho Rios and Garvey Maceo too good.
Today, they play against Denbigh at Manchester High School.
And there couldn’t be a quarterfinal round in any rural schoolboy football competition without a Clarendon derby.
At the Wembley Excellence Centre, Central, who ended bottom of their quarterfinal group, are up against dethroned daCosta Cup Champions Clarendon College.
Clarendon struggled to replicate the football they displayed on the way to last season’s daCosta Cup title, dramatically crashing out at the round-of-16 stage.
While they haven’t been impressive, Clarendon did win 3-1 against Kemps Hill, meaning that they are certainly a team to watch.
Today’s games
Central vs Clarendon College at Wembley Excellence Centre
Frome vs Manchester at STETHS Sports Complex
STETHS vs Cornwall College at Llandilo Community Centre
Munro vs Denbigh at Manchester High School
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