STETHS want Ben Francis Cup, admits assistant coach Davian Dennis
WHILE other schools are lacking in motivation to play for the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Ben Francis Cup, that is not the case for many-time champions St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS).
The quarter-final round of the competition got going last week with STETHS easing to a 2-0 win over Vere Technical High and advancing to the final four.
Now that they are into the final four, STETHS are aiming to go all the way this season.
“We wanted to reach the semi-finals. It’s a great feeling; we are in the top four of the Ben Francis Cup. It’s the last thing we have to play for, so we had to put in everything we have and get to the semi-finals, and we got there. So I am grateful for that,” said assistant coach Davian Dennis after their win last week.
Dennis revealed that once the team was eliminated from the dacosta Cup the players turned their attention to the Ben Francis Cup.
“It wasn’t that hard [to motivate them] because from the day that we dropped out of the dacosta Cup they told themselves that they need it, so they were here ready and
waiting for the game to play and they turned up very well,” he said.
Dennis said that the players do not intend to finish the season empty-handed and for those who are playing in their final season, winning the competition is a must.
“It’s the final trophy they have to play for, so they want it and we have a few guys leaving, so they want to leave with something,” he said.
The win over Vere Technical sets up a semi-final with Frome, whom they beat comfortably earlier this season. But Dennis already has a warning for his players going into Tuesday’s semi-final.
“We have defeated them 6-0 before, but we have to remind the players that the game starts nil-all; it’s not 6-0 we start from. So we have to go and play like the game start nil-all.”
As far as Dennis is concerned only good teams can make it to the final four, and so respect must be paid to their opponents despite the early-season result between the two teams.
“Any team reaching the semi-final is a good team, so you cannot go in and say we have beaten Frome already. We can’t do that. Every semi-final is difficult,” he insisted.
Both semi-final games will be played at STETHS on Tuesday with the other game featuring Edwin Allen High and Manchester High.
SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — Edwin Allen High School and Manchester High School will seek to stay on course for their first major football title today when they meet in one semi-final of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/BEN Francis Cup KO at the St Elizabeth Technical High School Sports Complex, set to start at 1:00 pm.
The finalists in the knockout will be decided today following both semi-finals with former champions St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) and Frome Technical meeting in the second game at 3:15 pm.
The winners will meet in Friday’s final, the curtain-riser for the dacosta Cup final between Garvey Maceo and Manning’s School.
All four teams qualified for today’s semi-finals following wins in the quarter-finals last Thursday.
Manchester High had the biggest win of the quarter-finals with a 3-0 margin over Christiana and will hope to get the better of Edwin Allen High, who took a long time to get into a rhythm in their 2-1 win over former champions Cornwall College.
This will be the closest the Edwin Allen team would have come to winning a title at this level, but to beat Manchester High they must find the form that saw them advance from a