Rusea's in must-win battle

WESTERN BUREAU:

A cursory look through all eight groups of the of the 2015 ISSA/FLOW daCosta Cup will reveal one glaring difference, in that all except in Zone Two are clearly defined, as to what teams will move on to the FLOW Super Cup and the Ben Francis KO.

The eight winners of the respective zones will automatically advance to the quarter-finals of the daCosta Cup.

Here is where things become really interesting. Of the four schools in Zone Two, three in Petersfield High (four points), Cornwall College (four) and Rusea's High (two) will rely on today's results to know who will move on and who may fall by the wayside.

Petersfield will tackle Cornwall College at Frome Sports Complex, while Rusea's will be playing with added pressure, knowing that only a victory over Herbert Morrison can save their campaign.

They will be hoping for a nil-all draw in the game between Petersfield and their top rivals, Cornwall, while they themselves must win by at least three clear goals to advance ahead of those two. Herbert Morrison are already eliminated after two defeats in the round.

"It's still all to play for," Aaron Lawrence, coach of Rusea's, told The Gleaner.

"Our aim remains to qualify to the next round, and that means whether or not we win the zone. But we are very confident and optimistic about our chances," he said.

The 'Russians' were left ruing after squandering a plethora of chances against Cornwall College in their big derby match on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Frome Technical (four) will have a chance to advance to the Flow Super Cup if they manage to win against leaders St James High (six) in one of three scheduled matches at Jarrett Park. The other matches are Spot Valley versus Mannings and Rusea's versus Herbert Morrison.

Today's matches

2 p.m. Spot Valley vs Mannings at Jarrett Park

4 p.m. Rusea's vs Herbert Morrison at Jarrett Park

6 p.m. St James vs Frome at Jarrett Park

3 p.m. Petersfield vs Cornwall at Frome

3 p.m. STETHS vs DeCarteret at STETHS

1 p.m. Manchester vs Spalding at Kirkvine

3 p.m. Alston vs Lennon at Kirkvine

3 p.m. Clarendon College vs Munro at Juici Beef Field

3 p.m. Marcus Garvey vs. Lacovia at Drax Hall

3 p.m. Annotto Bay vs Fair Prospect at St Mary Banana Estates

3 p.m. Port Antonio vs Browns Town at Carder Park

1 p.m. Bog Walk vs Kemps Hill at Dinthill Tech

3 p.m. Dinthill vs Islington at Dinthill Tech

1 p.m. Vere vs Ewarton at Middlesex Int'l College

3 p.m. Glenmuir vs Seaforth at Middlesex College

3 p.m. Paul Bogle vs Denbigh at York Oval