GODFREY STEWART

LAST YEAR, Godfrey Stewart High School made a mockery of the pundits' predictions in the daCosta Cup final when they stunned and embarrassed red-hot favourites and defending champions Glenmuir 3-0 to gain their first hold on the coveted title.

While they have lost just over 50 per cent of last year's outfit, including their inspiration, captain Dwayne Williams, coach Carl 'Long Life' Palmer is not only confident of retaining the daCosta Cup but also of adding the prestigious Olivier Shield, symbol of all-island schoolboy football supremacy.

"We have retained 11 players from last year's squad including five members of the winning team in Davian Thorpe, Garfield Green, Ricardo Rickettes, Marvin Daley and Evon Taylor," said coach Palmer. "In addition, we have some exciting new players who have been doing quite well in our practice games."

In the recent one-day Manning's Football Carnival, which saw Manning's, Godfrey Stewart, Glenmuir and Rusea's squaring-off for the Howard Jackson Trophy, Godfrey Stewart took the title after a first round 2-0 blanking of Glenmuir and a 2-1 win over Rusea's in the final.

"Our programme is on target but as the defending champions, we know all the other teams will be coming to get us," said Palmer. "We have played several schools in practice games and are yet to lose so we are naturally quite confident and optimistic."

Despite their confidence, coach Palmer intends to play close attention to several schools which he expects to pose challenges to his team's bid for back-to-back titles.

"I think Manning's will be a formidable team this year because they have a very good crop of young players," said Palmer. "I am also expecting teams such as Glenmuir, Rusea's and Cornwall College to do quite well."

GLENMUIR

WITH THE huge disappointment of last year's failure to repeat their 2004 success with a team many pundits considered invincible, coach Jackie Walters and his Glenmuir team will be taking a cautious but hopeful approach going into the 2006 daCosta Cup season.

"We are in the rebuilding mode, basically trying to put together a team for the next few years," said Walters, who has only retained midfielders James Thomas and Tavol Stewart from last year's team. "However, schoolboy football is very unpredictable so you never know what can happen."

In their practice games, the Glenmuir team, which features a number of players from last year's Under-16 team which won the all-island championship, has not been doing as well as their fans would hope.

In a recent pre-daCosta Cup tournament played in Clarendon, Glenmuir lost on penalties to Denbigh High in the final and in the one-day Manning's Football Carnival for the Howard Jackson Trophy, they tasted back-to-back 2-0 defeats to Godfrey Stewart and Manning's.

"I still think our preparations are going fairly well," said coach Walters. "Once players such as Thomas (James) and Stewart (Tavol) take on the role as team leaders, we expect youngsters such as Nigel Francis, Rowan Nelson and Christopher Bailey to step up and do well."

In looking at the teams he expects to figure prominently this year, coach Walters has singled out Denbigh and Godfrey Stewart as two teams to watch in the race for the championship.

"I think Godfrey Stewart is still a very good team and they are definitely the team to watch this year," said Walters. "However, as I said before, schoolboy football is very unpredictable."

MANNING'S

WITH MORE than 60 per cent of last year's team which made the competition's semi-final still at his disposal, Manning's coach, Hopeton Gilchrist, is an extremely confident man going into the 2006 daCosta Cup season.

"Our preparations have been quite intense and I think we are on course to do better than our semi-final placing last year," said Gilchrist. "I know we will be coming under more pressure this year because of how well we did last year but we are ready for it."

According to Gilchrist, the team has played several practice games with mixed results but he is still quite encouraged, especially after carefully assessing the team in a 2-1 loss to Rusea's and a 2-0 win against Glenmuir in the recent Manning's Football Carnival for the Howard Jackson Trophy.

"While we will miss the leadership of last year's goalkeeper Dwayne Kerr, we still have national Under-17 representative Drian McNain leading our attack and we also have the vastly talented Craig Fisher. It should be noted that except for Kerr, we have retained our entire defensive unit," he said.

With assistant coach and former national goalkeeper Aaron Lawrence working on getting a quality replacement for Kerr, the Manning's outfit, which played the Manning's Football Carnival with McNain, is bubbling with confidence.

"We know the teams such as Godfrey Stewart, Glenmuir and Cornwall College will be strong opposition but we are confident that we have a team to go all the way," said Gilchrist. "We are not in the habit of underestimating any team but we are confident and ready."

RUSEA'S

HAVING FAILED to make the inter-zone round in the past two seasons, former many-time champions Rusea's High School has their sights set on making the 2006 daCosta Cup season a memorable one for the parish of Hanover.

"We have not make the inter-zone round last year and the year before and as you know, that is not the Rusea's style," said coach Anthony 'Follies' Williams. "We believe we have the team to make it to the inter-zone this year and as everybody knows, when we get to the inter-zone we automatically become serious championship contenders."

While they have lost twice to Charlie Smith in practice games and fell 2-1 to reigning champions Godfrey Stewart in the finals of the recent Manning's Football Clarnival, coach Williams is not worried as, according to him, he is doing a lot of experimenting at this time.

"We are carefully, looking at the players with a view of getting the right combination in place for the daCosta Cup," said Williams. "However, players such as Horace Maxwell, Andre Atkinson and Andre Gillings are the players who are expected to lead our charge," he said.

With eight titles under their belts since winning their first daCosta Cup title in 1984, the Rusea's camp is confident that with a fairly decent crop of players and two experienced tacticians in head coach Williams and technical director Emerson 'Diggy' Henry, Rusea's is poised for more glory.

"We know that teams such as Godfrey Stewart will be hard to beat but once we fine-tune our preparation, we should be quite formidable," said Williams. "It is about time that Rusea's win again."

CORNWALL COLLEGE

WINNING THE daCosta Cup title has been like a recurring decimal for Cornwall College, whose eleven liens on the coveted title has made them the most successful team in the annals of the competition, which came into being in 1950.

With 70 per cent of the team which made it to the quarter-final round last year gone, coach Dr. Dean Weatherley is anticipating a tough season as, while he thinks he has a well-rounded unit, he is somewhat concerned that, unlike former years, the team is devoid of individual stars.

"We have been doing fairly well in terms of our preparation and practice games," said Weatherley, who has coached the Montego Bay team to four titles since 1995. "We are employing some new training methods this year because as you know, we have to change with the times."

In practice matches, Cornwall College has had positive results in a victory against fellow daCosta Cup contenders Spaldings and in a tournament staged in Trelawny by Village United. However, they suffered 3-2 and 2-1 defeats to Manning Cup contenders St. George's College and Wolmer's respectively.

In terms of composition, Weatherley is expecting that strikers Edward Campbell, who had a brilliant season last year and Cedric Daley, a consistent performer, will spearhead the team's attack.

"I am expecting stiff competition in the zone stage from the likes of Herbert Morrison," said Weatherley. "I am also expecting stiff competition from the likes of Rusea's, Godfrey Stewart and the Clarendon teams."

- A.F.