Adrian Frater, New Editor

WESTERN BUREAU:

WITH THE ISSA/Pepsi/JN daCosta Cup on a two-week break, the 12 zone winners from the competition's preliminary round will now turn their attention to the Ben Francis Knockout which kicks off this afternoon with four first-round games at 3:30 p.m.

The games are: Charlemont against Tacky at Dinthill, Clarendon College versus Spaldings at Brancourt, Frome Technical against DeCarteret at St. Elizabeth Technical and Ocho Rios versus Petersfield at Jarrett Park.

The winners of Zones L, I, E and A have all drawn byes and will enter the competition at the quarter-final stage. By virtue of the competition's knockout status, games that are not concluded in regulation time will feature extra-time play and penalties if necessary.

While all four games are crucial, the stakes should be particularly high for teams such as Ocho Rios High, DeCarteret College, Clarendon College and Charlemont, who are all sporting impressive unbeaten records from their daCosta Cup preliminary campaigns.

Fireworks expected

However, based on the type of reputation established by Zone B winner Frome Technical - six wins, one draw and one defeat from eight games - and their opponents, Zone F kingpins DeCarteret - six wins and a draw from seven games, that game is expected to produce a great deal of fireworks.

The game between Clarendon College, who topped Zone C - amassing 22 points through seven wins and a draw from eight games; and Spaldings, who notched seven wins and a defeat in their eight Zone G games, also has the potential to generate a lot of excitement.

While there is no way of properly measuring the capabilities of the teams based on the fact that they faced different opponents in their preliminary campaign, Clarendon College and Spaldings appears evenly matched as Clarendon College scored 15 goals and conceded three in their campaign while Spaldings scored 27 goals and gave up three.

On account of their topping of Zone C, the so-called zone of death, which also featured dethroned champions Godfrey Stewart, last year's beaten semi-finalists Manning's and inter-zone qualifiers Grange Hill, Petersfield should start favourites against Ocho Rios, who played a mere six games in finishing unbeaten in Zone D.

"Our plan is to take everything in sight this season," said Petersfield coach Audley 'Tom Tom' Thomas after his team clipped Grange Hill 1-0 on Saturday to top Zone C and claim the group's Ben Francis KO slot. "The players understand what is expected of them and I expect them to deliver."

The game between Charlemont, who romped Zone J by completing their fixtures unbeaten; and Tacky, who had to battle hard to survive from the competitive Zone K, could be a close one with Charlemont having the edge.

TODAY'S GAMES

Charlemont vs Tacky at Dinthill

Clarendon College vs Spaldings at Brancourt

Frome vs DeCarteret College at STETHS

Ocho Rios vs Petersfield at Jarrett Park