Unseeded teams make their mark in daCosta Cup

CLARENDON, Jamaica — Lacovia High produced arguably the biggest upset of Saturday’s opening round of matches in the ISSA daCosta Cup Round of 16, coming from behind to defeat former champions Clarendon College 2-1 and underline the growing influence of unseeded teams in this year’s competition. While former champions Cornwall College, Glenmuir High and Munro College recorded emphatic victories to kick-start the third round, Lacovia High stole the spotlight with a spirited performance against one of the competition’s traditional powerhouses. Cornwall College registered the biggest win of the day, thrashing Ocho Rios High 6-0 at Drax Hall, while Glenmuir High dismantled defending champions St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) 5-0 in May Pen. Munro College were equally impressive, brushing aside previously unbeaten Manning’s School 4-1 at Llandilo Sports Complex. Lacovia High are among five unseeded teams to have battled their way into the final 16, joining Munro College, Frome Technical, Central High and Denbigh High, all of whom have claimed notable scalps on their journey through the competition. Their progress has come at the expense of several seeded teams, including Christiana High, Maggotty High, William Knibb Memorial and Old Harbour High, which failed to advance beyond the second round. This season’s revised competition format, which allowed the top 15 teams from last year’s tournament to bypass the opening round and enter at the second stage, initially attracted criticism. However, some coaches whose teams were required to compete from the first round have welcomed the additional matches, arguing that the early competitive action helped prepare their squads for the tougher stages. Among them are Frome Technical’s Cleighton Stephens and Lacovia High’s Willard Douglas, who believe the format has worked to their teams’ advantage. Stephens told Observer Online during the pre-season that he welcomed the opportunity to give his players more competitive matches, a sentiment echoed by Douglas on Sunday. Douglas said the additional games allowed his squad to develop chemistry and identify areas requiring improvement before entering the second round. “Not every member of the coaching staff agreed with the new format,” Douglas admitted. “There were positives and negatives, but we got to play about seven games and that helped to build chemistry and showed us what we had and what we did not have.” Reflecting on Saturday’s victory, Douglas said his players approached the encounter fully aware of the challenge posed by Clarendon College but remained confident in their ability to compete. “We knew we were facing a very good team, but we had to be positive, stay focused and disciplined and we did not falter,” he said. Clarendon College made the brighter start when Omarion Thomas scored directly from a corner to hand the former champions an early advantage. However, national junior representative Tyraun Bembridge restored parity before the half-time break, setting the stage for Chrisjay Maitland to complete the comeback with the winning goal in the second half. Meanwhile, at Drax Hall, national junior representative Carlondo Morris continued his prolific goalscoring form, registering his second consecutive hat-trick to spearhead Cornwall College’s six-goal demolition of Ocho Rios High. Morris converted twice from the penalty spot, while Mekhi Foster, Shakeem Gibson and Marcane Gooden also got on the scoresheet. At Glenmuir High, Jonathan Tomlinson struck twice in the second half as the hosts overwhelmed defending champions STETHS in a commanding 5-0 victory. Orel Miller opened the scoring in the 29th minute to give Glenmuir a 1-0 advantage at the interval before Tomlinson doubled the lead in the 49th minute and completed his brace in the 71st. Substitutes Ronaldo Campbell and Tristan Francis added further gloss to the scoreline, with Campbell finding the net in the 75th minute and Francis scoring one minute into added time. At Llandilo Sports Complex, Munro College delivered another statement performance, handing Manning’s School their first defeat of the campaign in a contest that began more than half an hour later than scheduled. Manning’s had entered the encounter with a perfect record from the previous round but were outplayed by a clinical Munro outfit. Akel Vespry opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a low diving header at the far left post before two goals in quick succession effectively put Munro in control. Nikosi Foncette converted a penalty in the 30th minute, and Jaquan Mitchell fired home from close range just two minutes later to extend the advantage to 3-0. Jarvis Meylor pulled a goal back for Manning’s shortly before half-time, but former Manning’s player Kajaye Williams completed Munro’s victory when he poked the ball past goalkeeper Michael Gibbon at the near left post. Elsewhere, former champions Dinthill Technical secured a 2-0 victory over Denbigh High, while McGrath High defeated Central High by the same margin. Frome Technical and Garvey Maceo High played out a goalless draw, while Manchester High and Kemps Hill High shared the points in a 1-1 stalemate. Saturday’s Results Frome Tech — 0, Garvey Maceo — 0 Manning’s School — 1, Munro College — 4 Ocho Rios High — 0, Cornwall College — 6 Manchester High — 1, Kemps Hill High — 1 Glenmuir High — 5, STETHS — 0 Clarendon College — 1, Lacovia High — 2 Denbigh High — 0, Dinthill Technical — 2 McGrath High — 2, Central High — 0