Adrian Frater, News Editor

WESTERN BUREAU:

CHAMPIONS GLENMUIR High begin the defence of their Inter-Secondary Sports Association (ISSA)/Pepsi/Digicel daCosta Cup title this afternoon when they battle Old Harbour in one of three games to mark the start of the 2007 schoolboy football season.

The game, which is slated to start at 2:20 p.m., will be preceded by a Manning Cup game between champions Bridgeport High and Norman Manley at noon and will be followed by a Zone A daCosta Cup showdown between Cornwall College and William Knibb at 4:00 p.m.

The competition's official opening ceremony, which will feature a parade of teams from the Manning and daCosta Cups, is sandwiched between the opening game and the Glenmuir and Old Harbour game, which will be closely watched by the pundits.

In looking ahead to his team's contest against Old Harbour, coach of Glenmuir, Jackie Walters, said his team is ready, despite having a less than impressive run in the lead-up to the competition, which will feature 78 teams in 13 zones.

"We are ready to go and intend to give this game our best shot," said Walters, who guided the Glenmuir team to a 3-2 penalty shoot-out win over Frome Technical in last year's final. "We experimented a lot in our warm-up games but it is now time for the real thing."

However, Old Harbour's coach, Uriel Meghie, is also hoping for a winning start and with a string of impressive practice-game results behind his team, he has every intention of fully testing the mettle of the champions.

Much better unit

"We lost two close games against Glenmuir last year, but we are now a much better unit so we will be looking for a victory against them this time around," said Meghie. "My team consists of a number of players who tasted success at the Under-16 level and will be anxious to prove themselves at this level."

While coach Walters will be looking for a total team effort with Nigel Francis, Rowan Nelson and Christopher Bailey leading the way, his Old Harbour counterpart is expecting players such as Dane Kelly, Jabari Baker, Odane Powell, Kerwin Bonner and Viando Salmon to make their mark.

The second game between the Dean Weatherly-coached Cornwall College and the Cassman Williams-conditioned William Knibb will be viewed with a great deal of interest as fans in the west are no doubt anxious to gauge the readiness of the region's teams.

"We are looking at making it at least to the semi-final stage," said Weatherley. "I like the attitude of the players and I am expecting good things from them."

While Cornwall will be banking heavily on national junior players Mikhail Weatherly and Edward Campbell, William Knibb will be hoping for match-winning performances from top players Romando Anderson and Yanique Brown.

"Although the team is a young one, I am expecting a lot from them," said Williams. "They are aware of the rivalry between us and Cornwall, so I am expecting them to give their all."