Western Bureau: On an afternoon in which former champions Glenmuir and last season's beaten finalists Spaldings High perished, defending champions St James High, Garvey Maceo, Manchester High and St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) all sealed their places in the semi-finals of the 2009 ISSA/Pepsi/Digicel/ daCosta Cup following yesterday's final round of quarter-final games.
Needing just a draw from their Group One game against Frome Technical at Jarrett Park, champions St James got a stern examination from the Westmoreland team but came away with a good 3-1 win, courtesy of a Roshane Reid hat-trick.
"We did not play as well as I had expected but we nonetheless achieved our objective, which was not to lose the game," said St James High's coach, Hugh Solomon.
In the second Group Two game at STETHS, the home side went into the game facing a must-win situation against Ben Francis champions and the previously unbeaten Glenmuir, and got the job done, courtesy of a double strike by Deshaun Brown, which gave them a 2-0 win.
Following yesterday's results, St James High finished atop Group One with seven points while fellow qualifiers STETHS finished with six. Glenmuir and Frome ended with four and zero points, respectively.
In Group Two, 2007 champions Garvey Maceo trailed 1-0 against Spaldings for most of the game before a Daniel Callaghan goal in stoppage them earned them a 1-1 draw.
good game
"We did not push ourselves today because we knew we would be OK once we did not lose heavily," said Garvey Maceo's coach Jeffrey Hewitt. "We played a good game tactically and that was basically what we were hoping to do."
In the other Group Two game at the Spanish Town Prison Oval, the Manchester High team, which faced a must-win situation against Marcus Garvey Technical, had to battle all the way before coming away with a 2-1 victory. Dave Morgan and Jason Johnson got the goals for Manchester High.
"It was a very hard game for us ... it was a fight for our life all the way," said Manchester High's coach Barry Watson.
The final points standings in the group saw Garvey Maceo on top with seven points followed by fellow qualifiers Manchester High with four points. Spaldings also finished on four points but with an inferior goal difference to Manchester High. Marcus Garvey finished bottom of the group with one point.
In next Saturday's semi-finals, St James High will battle Manchester High in one game and STETHS tackle Garvey Maceo in the other.