STETHS beat Dinthill in a rain drenched Ben Francis KO classic

WESTERN BUREAU:

St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) stayed alive to defend their Ben Francis KO title after coming within a kick of losing to Dinthill Technical yesterday.

They ended up edging a drama-filled semi-final 7-6 by virtue of sudden-death penalty at Manchester High School.

They will now face Manchester High in Friday's final at Juice Field in Clarendon Park.

Kicks from the spot began badly for STETHS, as Trevar McCulloch's effort was brilliantly saved by Dinthill goalkeeper George Brown.

Michael Kerr, Shawn Genus, Dwayne Foster and Glendon Gopaul scored for STETHS, while Antoine Rhule, Jahmari Ranger, Danchennel Goulbourne and goalkeeper Brown netted for Dinthill.

Murray missed penalty

Murray, who earlier gave Dinthill the lead during regulation time, missed in the shoot-out as his shot was saved by the STETHS custodian to send the game into sudden death.

It took the defending champions three additional kicks for the win, after Shemar Brooks missed for Dinthill, with the scoreline finally settling at 7-6.

The Anthony Patrick-coached Dinthill had themselves to blame as they thought on two separate occasions they had won the game. Jahmari Ranger found his range with a blistering shot from just inside the 18-yard area for the 1-0 lead in the 86th minute.

The defending champions responded as champions should do. Their top marksman, Michael 'Diddy' Kerr, profited from a botched attempt at a clearance and he rounded George Brown in the Dinthill goal to equalise in injury time (90+2) for his 28th goal of the season.

That goal pushed the game into extra time and Dinthill took the lead again, this time from the penalty spot through Rodave Murray, who calmly stepped up to stroke the ball firmly into the goal at 2-1.

However, McCulloch hammered in an absolutely sweet left-footed shot to even things up once again for STETHS, who dominated the game in large chunks.

"Belief was our ally today; we believed we could win even when falling behind," said STETHS coach Omar Wedderburn.

On Monday, Dwainey Williams' goal deep into the second period of extra time carried Manchester High to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Lennon High and into the final.

Lennon, buoyed by their emphatic beating of a stellar Petersfield High team in the quarter-finals last week, jumped to an early lead when Chawayne Nelson netted in the eighth minute.

However, Manchester drew level in time added after 90 minutes of pulsating action, with Romaine Walsh getting the goal.

Then with 108 minutes on the clock, Williams struck a goal that sent his team into the final with a 2-1 scoreline.

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