STETHS, Excelsior expect hard fight for all-island supremacy

A pulsating encounter is expected this afternoon when Manning Cup champions Excelsior take on daCosta Cup winners St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) in today’s Olivier Shield final at the Stadium East field. Match time is 3 p.m.

Excelsior will enter today’s game on a high after winning their first Manning Cup title in 21 years, following a 2–0 victory over Jamaica College on December 19.

The Mountain View-based institution last lifted the Olivier Shield in 2003 and will be eager to end that 22-year drought when they take on the Santa Cruz-based STETHS.

Keon Broderick, head coach of Excelsior, says he is expecting a very challenging encounter against STETHS, but he is confident that his team will do well.

“It is going to be a tough game, because they are a good team and they are also well coached, so we just have to go out there, stay positive and do what we need to do to get the victory,” said Broderick.

“We have not been at this stage for a while, and so we are relishing the opportunity of playing in the Olivier Shield. The players are also looking forward to the competition because not many get the opportunity to appear in this play-off, so playing in the Olivier Shield is a privilege for them,” he said.

Excelsior will be relying heavily on the likes of Kimarly Scott, Kivann Salmon, Damarley Williams, and Terrence Williams to lead their charge.

Omar Wedderburn, head coach of STETHS, who guided his team to their sixth daCosta Cup crown on December 20 and their first since 2015, said while the Olivier Shield may not have always been the main focus in previous seasons, this time around things are different.

“I always wanted this trophy. I was a part of it when we last won it in 1999, and so it has been a long time since I felt that glory; and so it is something that we would really like to win,” said Wedderburn.

“In 1999, that was the only time that we have ever won the Olivier Shield, and so if I come here and say that I don’t want to win it, then I would be telling you a lie.”

“I think in previous years when we won the daCosta Cup competition, we didn’t pay much attention to the Olivier Shield and it is here. And we are here now, and so why not give it a try. It is going to be a good game because Excelsior is a pretty nice team,” Wedderburn added.

STETHS will rest their hopes in the hands of Kaieem Lewis, Jade Lynch, Dantay Hewitt, and Malachi McMaster.