Titchfield's Denroy Wilson
and
Frome's Shane Anderson
Paul A. Reid, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
FIRST-TIME QUALIFIERS Frome Technical High of Westmoreland and Titchfield High of Portland will seek their first daCosta Cup crown this afternoon when they meet in the final of the ISSA Pepsi/Sports Plus rural area schoolboys football competition at 2:45 p.m. at Jarrett Park.
Today's winner will be the ninth school to clinch the Cup which was first contested in 1950.
The final will follow the ISSA rural area Under-16 final between Mannings and Happy Grove High which starts at 12:45 p.m.
Frome will be hoping to extend the legacy of western Jamaican teams who have won the majority of the titles that have been contested with 30 liens so far, but coach Boysie Nicholson told The Gleaner this week that while he was aware of the history and "the responsibility", he felt no pressure at all.
His counterpart at Titchfield, Andrew Edwards, was also aware that no team from eastern Jamaica had taken home the Cup but was equally confident that his side could rise to the occasion as there "was a first time for everything".
NOT ENOUGH TO SWAY
Two losses to Frome this season were not enough to sway the confident Edwards either as he said with the final "being the ultimate game" his players would rise to the occasion.
The Titchfield team journeyed to Montego Bay yesterday after some doubts that they would be able to leave Portland a day early.
After a long season that started nearly four months ago, both schools have reported "niggling injuries" to some players, the most serious being the injured left calf of Titchfield's starting goalkeeper, Delroy Richards.
Edwards said if Richards, who had to be taken off in the latter stages of the replayed semi-final against Clarendon College, was not able to go today, he would have capable back up. Tyrone Dale, who is a converted outfield player and who took over, is the best of the other goalkeepers they have in the squad, Edwards said.
Former national youth player, Marvin Fagan, who abandoned the team following the first semi-final against Clarendon may force a shifting around of some other players but Edwards said they had adequate back up.
The teams qualified for the final after hard-fought semi-final wins, Frome overcame Cornwall College 2-1 at Jarrett Park while Titchfield played two entire games and four periods of extra time against Clarendon College before beating them 4-1 on penalty kicks.
The first game between Titchfield and Clarendon at Brancourt was called off after regulation and extra time tied at 2-2 after fading light prevented the taking of penalty kicks. The game was rescheduled for Prison Oval this week and Titchfield won on penalties after coming from a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw through regulation and sudden death.
The teams had similar daCosta Cup statistics, except that while Frome were runaway winners in Zone B, Titchfield had qualified for the inter-zone round as the second-placed team in Zone L, finishing behind Seaforth High after losing to them twice.
Frome did not lose their first game of the season until November 1 in the quarter-finals when they were edged 1-0 by Clarendon College and scored a total of 34 goals while conceding 11.
Titchfield managed to avoid defeat in the daCosta Cup after they advanced from the zone, winning four of their next six games going into the semi-finals. They were however knocked out of the Ben Francis quarter-finals, beaten by Frome 1-0.
Edwards told The Gleaner that their training was hampered this week as heavy rain had left most of the fields in Portland water-logged and prevented then from training on some days but added that they had put that time to good use by working on other aspects of their preparations.
Nicholson said training had been going well for his side with the emphasis on sprinting and the offensive aspects of their game.
He said while they were confident of winning today, they were not "overly confident".
