Frome, Clarendon hunt second win

Adrian Frater, News Editor
Western Bureau:

First-round winners Frome Technical and Clarendon College will both be aiming to strengthen their semi-final bid in the 2006 ISSA/Pepsi/JN daCosta Cup when they move into this afternoon's second round of quarter-final games as firm favourites to notch their second wins.

Frome, which lead Group Two on account of their first-round 3-2 win against Denbigh, will battle Titchfield, which had a 0-0 draw against Bog Walk, at the Drax Hall ground, in St. Ann.

Clarendon College - which blanked Rusea's 2-0, will take on parish rivals Garvey Maceo, which had a 0-0 draw against Glenmuir in a Clarendon derby at Brancourt.

In the second of this afternoon's two Group Two games, the exciting Denbigh team, which led twice before going down to Frome, will take on surprise quarter-final round package Bog Walk at Dinthill High School, while former champions Rusea's and Glenmuir will clash in the second of the Group One games at St. Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS).

Having already conquered the most fancied of their three quarter-final opponents, the Boysie Nicholson-coached Frome Technical, which is gunning to add the daCosta Cup title to their Ben Francis Cup success, should get the better of Titchfield.

"We showed a lot of character in our 3-2 win against Denbigh and the spirit in the camp is extremely high," said Nicholson. "We will be a confident and focused unit going up against Titchfield."

Aim to be placed

However, having come through the tough Zone L of the competition's preliminary round and then surviving the inter-zone round, Titchfield should not be slighted as they take aim on a place in the competition's semi-final.

Clarendon College, which displayed irresistible form in their win against Rusea's, could be even more ruthless against Garvey Maceo as, according to coach Kevin Williams, the players are confident and ready to go all the way to the coveted title.

"Having beaten the Rusea's team, we are now more confident than ever that we are on course to win the daCosta Cup," said Williams, "Having lost the Ben Francis Cup on penalties to Frome, the players are determined to make amends.'

After securing a draw against Titchfield, Bog Walk should be quite a confident team going up against Denbigh. In fact, following Saturday's game, team official Vincent Mitchell said they have their sights set on winning the next two games.

"We lost a player to a red card against Titchfield but we were still able to hold our own," said Mitchell. 'We will definitely be looking to win the next two games."

The Rusea's-Glenmuir game has the potential to be a humdinger as it will bring together three of the most respected coaches in schoolboy football: Emerson 'Diggy' Henry and Anthony 'Follies' Williams on Rusea's side and Jackie Walters for Glenmuir.

Based on their results this season, both teams appear equally matched and with points at a premium at this stage of the competition, both will undoubtedly throw everything at each other.