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Garvey, Dinthill square off in KO semis
BY PAUL A REID Observer writer
reidp@jamaicaobserver.com
SPANISH TOWN, St Catherine — Redhot Garvey Maceo and Dinthill Technical will meet in the first semifinal of the rural area Ben Francis KO contest this afternoon at St Catherine Prison Oval, starting at 3:00.
Today’s winners will face the victors of the semi-final clash between former champions Rusea’s High and Grange Hill tomorrow at Jarrett Park in a game pushed back from today to accommodate a Cash Plus Premier League match between Seba United and Harbour View.
The Ben Francis KO final will be played on Saturday at Jarrett Park.
Up to yesterday, both Garvey Maceo and Dinthill camps were bubbling with anticipation at what is expected to be a keen clash between two teams that have proved themselves late in the season.
Garvey Maceo are coming off a morale-boosting 3-0 quarter-final win over highly-fancied Clarendon College after qualifying ahead of preseason favourites Glenmuir, but coach Jeffery Hewitt is not buying the ‘favourites’ tag.
After a healthy laugh when asked if he thought his team were favourites, Hewitt said while the team was confident, “I won’t go as far as that; we’re taking each game one step at a time”.
The players, he said, were “fully focused and prepared” for the game and hoping to make it to their first senior schoolboy final.
The last time the teams met was in 2004 in the daCosta Cup Inter-Zone round in a game of academic interest only, which Dinthill won 1-0.
Michael Daley, who has been at the helm at Dinthill for the past few seasons, said they saw Garvey Maceo twice last season and since their opponents have retained the majority of their players from last season, they know what to expect.
Daley said his team is “100 per cent fit, injury free and no suspensions”, and their win over Fair Prospect in Portland on Saturday has boosted their confidence.
“We scored very early in the game and were able to defend our lead for more than 80 minutes,” he told the Observer, adding that they have not conceded a goal in their last two games.
He admitted that while Garvey Maceo will provide a much tougher task than any team they have played this season, the players were prepared for the challenge.
The game is a play-to-finish affair, with extra-time and penalty kicks to be used to determine a winner, if necessary.
BY PAUL A REID Observer writer
reidp@jamaicaobserver.com
SPANISH TOWN, St Catherine — Redhot Garvey Maceo and Dinthill Technical will meet in the first semifinal of the rural area Ben Francis KO contest this afternoon at St Catherine Prison Oval, starting at 3:00.
Today’s winners will face the victors of the semi-final clash between former champions Rusea’s High and Grange Hill tomorrow at Jarrett Park in a game pushed back from today to accommodate a Cash Plus Premier League match between Seba United and Harbour View.
The Ben Francis KO final will be played on Saturday at Jarrett Park.
Up to yesterday, both Garvey Maceo and Dinthill camps were bubbling with anticipation at what is expected to be a keen clash between two teams that have proved themselves late in the season.
Garvey Maceo are coming off a morale-boosting 3-0 quarter-final win over highly-fancied Clarendon College after qualifying ahead of preseason favourites Glenmuir, but coach Jeffery Hewitt is not buying the ‘favourites’ tag.
After a healthy laugh when asked if he thought his team were favourites, Hewitt said while the team was confident, “I won’t go as far as that; we’re taking each game one step at a time”.
The players, he said, were “fully focused and prepared” for the game and hoping to make it to their first senior schoolboy final.
The last time the teams met was in 2004 in the daCosta Cup Inter-Zone round in a game of academic interest only, which Dinthill won 1-0.
Michael Daley, who has been at the helm at Dinthill for the past few seasons, said they saw Garvey Maceo twice last season and since their opponents have retained the majority of their players from last season, they know what to expect.
Daley said his team is “100 per cent fit, injury free and no suspensions”, and their win over Fair Prospect in Portland on Saturday has boosted their confidence.
“We scored very early in the game and were able to defend our lead for more than 80 minutes,” he told the Observer, adding that they have not conceded a goal in their last two games.
He admitted that while Garvey Maceo will provide a much tougher task than any team they have played this season, the players were prepared for the challenge.
The game is a play-to-finish affair, with extra-time and penalty kicks to be used to determine a winner, if necessary.