Ben Francis semis take centre stage
FWESTERN BUREAU:
IRST-ROUND GROUP rivals B.B. Coke stand between Manchester High and their first national Under-19 schoolboy football title. After fierce contests between the two in the daCosta Cup earlier this season, both teams will go head-to-head once more in today’s semi-finals of the ISSA Ben Francis Knockout Cup at the Juici Patties Field in Clarendon. The game will kick off at 1:00 p.m.
In the 3:00 p.m. kick off of the double-header, sixtime champions St Elizabeth Technical High School will take on Garvey Maceo.
In their first encounter in the daCosta Cup this season, Manchester, playing at home, won by a whopping 5-0 margin over their rivals. In the reverse fixture, B.B. Coke turned the tables with a solid 4-2 win.
Vassell Reynolds, coach of Manchester High, said that despite their opponents’ possible psychological advantage given the result of their last fixture, he is confident that his team will show their abilities and secure a win today.
“It’s not necessarily a grudge match for us. However, we see it as an interesting encounter because of the fact that we would have met twice in the preliminary round and it’s one apiece in terms of victories,” said Reynolds.
“There is no doubt that B.B Coke would have it in the back of their minds that they would have the know-how in terms of how to beat us with the fact that they have done it in the first round,” Reynolds said. “However, we are pretty confident in our abilities and that we can get the job done. We know that they are a much-improved team and it won’t be an easy task. We are very optimistic and have every confidence that we will get the job done.”