Ben Francis quartet ready for massive battle
WESTERN BUREAU: THE ALL-OUT attack of Dinthill Technical meets the defensive nature of Rusea’s in the ISSA-Flow Ben Francis KO semi-finals at St Elizabeth Technical (STETHS) Sports Complex, kicking off at 3:30 p.m.
Dinthill boasts arguably the most attacking team in rural area competition with the prolific trio of Andrea Fletcher, Shamari Davis and leading goalscorer Kaheem Parris capable of breaking down any defence. They have also proven themselves to be a rather balanced outfit with a back-line that has been impenetrable over the past five games against tougher opposition, which make them a hard team to beat.
Manager Everton Burke told The Gleaner yesterday that his team will be aiming to make their offensive superiority count over the 90 minutes, while underlining his confidence in the team’s ability to get goals from all departments.
“With this set of players, the greatest thing is that we have goals coming from all department so we are not really dependent on any one player. We always go out trying to outscore our opponents so nothing is different with this Rusea’s team. The aim is the try and finish this game in regular time so we are not thinking about taking it to extra time even though we are prepared for it,” said Burke.
IMPRESSIVE LOOK
Rusea’s who have looked quite impressive in their past five matches will be looking to carry on with their good form but will no doubt be mindful of the abilities of Dinthill’s three-pronged attack, starting with Reggae Boyz prospect Parris.
Coach Vassell Reynolds said they are not focused on any one player but is rather looking to stop a very good team in their tracks. He is aware that to do so they will have to be solid in defence this afternoon.
“Certainly, Kaheem has been doing well, we know that he is a player with quality but we are playing for no one player. We are playing to stop all eleven players on what we think is a good Dinthill team. We just have to play together as a team because we know they are a very good attacking team so we have to defend well,” said Reynolds.
In the other semi-final at Manchester High, Clarendon College battle STETHS, kicking off at 2:30 pm.
All matches will be completed today. If the scores are level at full-time, extratime of 10 minutes per half will be played followed by penalties if necessary.