Fiery Zone E daCosta Cup playoffs begin today

WITH ONLY three spots available to advance to the ISSA daCosta Cup’s round of 32, the fiery Zone E’s top four teams begin the playoff battle today.

The St Elizabeth derby will see zone toppers B. B. Coke High host fourth-place Lacovia High at the B. B. Coke playing field, while second in the zone, St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) face third in the zone Maggotty High at Appleton Sports Club. Both games will be played at 3:30 p.m.

B. B. Coke are on 14 points, with STETHS second on 12. Magotty and Lacovia, tied on nine points, sit third and fourth.

On Saturday, when the teams met, B. B. Coke and Lacovia ended in a 1-1 draw, while STETHS and Magotty ended in a 0-0 draw.

B. B. Coke started the season well, showing improvement since last year, while Ben Francis Cup champions, STETHS, were sluggish but have managed to find their footing in the last few games.

Meanwhile, Maggotty and Lacovia came into this season as underdogs but will look to upset the favourites.

Assistant coach of Maggotty, Craig Thomas, said despite being considered underdogs, the team is aiming to achieve a significant victory that could set them ahead in the competition.

“We definitely see ourselves as underdogs. STETHS are five-time champions. We have never won any form of domestic competition before, so they are always going to be the favourites to win,” said Thomas.

The last time Maggotty advanced to the second round was in 2019.

“We are hoping we can turn the odds this time based on our preparation and keep energised so we can compete and get these three points,” added Thomas.

The last time Lacovia advanced to the second round was in 2017 when they played in the Flow Cup.

According to assistant coach Williard Douglas, the aim is to at least secure a point to give them a fighting chance.

“It is important for us not to leave the game against B. B. Coke empty-handed, whether three points or one. We aim to take each game in stride,” said Douglas.

“We played them on Saturday and saw how they played. We made the adjustments for our team to come out, and as I emphasised earlier, not come out empty-handed,” added Douglas.

Today’s Games

Lewisville High vs Little London – Lewisville

B. B. Coke vs Lacovia – B. B. Coke

STETHS vs Maggotty – Frome

Christiana High vs Knox College – Kirkvine Sports Club

Muschett vs Spot Valley - Muschett

Mt St Jospeh vs deCarteret - Mt St Jospeh

Alphansus Davis vs Holmwood Tech – Alphansus Davis

Claude McKay vs Edwin Allen – Edwin Allen

Winston Jones vs Foga Road- Winston Jones

Tacius Golding vs Charlemont- MOE: Region 6

Ferncourt vs York Castle - Drax Hall

All games begin at 3:30 p.m.*