STETHS seek 7-in-a-row - Lennon hunt first Ben Francis KO crown

Western Bureau:

When St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) line up for the ISSA-FLOW Ben Francis Knockout final against Lennon High at 2:30 p.m. this afternoon at the Manchester High School ground, it will be the first time these two will meet in a championship decider.

STETHS have already won the trophy an unprecedented six times in a row and technical director Wendell Downswell is confident that a seventh title will be achieved this afternoon.

CONFIDENT

"We know what to expect from Lennon. They are a good bunch, but we are able to counter well against them and should be victorious at the final whistle in this one," declared Downswell.

Lennon's coach Merron Gordon is equally confident his team will walk away with the trophy at the final whistle today.

"We are looking to take home our first piece of silverware. I am sure STETHS will play a hard game as they usually do, but this team appears to be finding form just at the right time and we are looking to end the STETHS' dominance," Gordon said.

Lennon's strength is in defence. They were able to apply a vice-like grip on Cornwall College's ace forward, Jourdaine Fletcher, in the semi-finals, and they will look to employ a similar strategy to contain the likes of Chris-Andrew Dixon, Alex Thomas, and the silky skills of Demar James upfront for STETHS.

Lennon's big central defender and captain Fitzroy Cummings leads a strong rock, solid back line-and they could deny STETHS this afternoon.

Much is expected from Cummings today, and he should get good support from Ryan Morrison, Christopher Randall, Odane Grant, and the brilliant goalkeeper Tyrone Mullings.

The two teams clashed earlier in the inter-zone round of the daCosta Cup, with STETHS coming from behind to edge a thrilling match 2-1.

Their never-say-never attitude once again came to the fore in Monday's 4-3 sudden death penalty win over Clarendon College in a semi-final thriller. They will no doubt be tested once more.

Past winners: 1982 - Vere; 1983 and '84 - Cornwall; 1985 - Rusea's; 1986 - Herbert Morrison; 1987 - Rusea's; 1988 - Herbert Morrison; 1989 and 1990 - Clarendon; 1991 - Cornwall; 1992 - Rusea's; 1993 and 1994 - Glenmuir; 1995 - Cornwall; 1997 - No competition; 1998 - Clarendon; 1999 - Glenmuir; 2000 and 2001 - Cornwall; 2002 - Old Harbour; 2003 - Cornwall; 2004 and 2005 - Glenmuir; 2006 - Frome; 2007 - Garvey Maceo; 2008 - St James; 2009 -2015 - STETHS.