St Catherine, St Jago in crucial ISSA urban netball clash

SPANISH TOWN-BASED St Catherine High and St Jago High will clash today at St John’s Road in Zone B of the preliminary round of the ISSA urban schoolgirls netball competition.

The junior teams will meet at 1:15 p.m. before the seniors take the court in the feature game at 2 p.m. where the Phyllis Thompson-coached St Catherine are the defending champions and will be looking to extend their unbeaten run from last year.

Both teams are coming off impressive wins in their last outing where St Jago got by St Andrew Technical 39-7 and St Catherine stopped Vauxhall 45-17. Victory today will be very crucial as the winners will likely top the zone.

Coach Thompson knows the importance of this clash and St Catherine will not take their opponents for granted. “Over the years we have gotten the better of them in this parish derby but we are not dropping our guard as they are coming off a big win. I am, however, super confident that my team will win as we have a very strong unit which includes two players who are members of the national under-21 development squad, in goal shooter Kellyann Hunter and goal attack Asharie Thomas,” Thompson said.

Ardene Jones, the netball coach at St Jago, stated that her team preparation has been hampered by several challenges.

“We have had a lot of challenges at the school which have affected the preparation of the team as the girls are only able to train two or three times per week and they are not at the level I expect them to be. St Catherine are defending champions and will be highly motivated but I am hoping my girls will give of their best,” said Jones.

St Catherine are expected to get the better of their opponents in the opening game as they are coming off two wins while St Jago were held to a 19-19 tie by Cedar Grove Academy at home in their only game so far.

Today’s gamesZone A

Juniors

Excelsior vs Clan Carthy

Jonathan Grant vs Camperdown

Mona vs Tivoli

Zone B

Juniors

Vauxhall vs Innswood

Cedar Grove vs St Andrew Technical

Seniors

Cedar Grove vs St Andrew Technical

Zone C

Juniors Meadowbrook vs Merl Grove

Jose Marti vs Papine

Seniors

Jose Marti vs Papine