Clarendon in top form ahead of daCosta semis

WESTERN BUREAU:

Dinthill Technical High failed to reach the semi-finals of the ISSA/Digicel daCosta Cup for the first time in six years after they were whipped 4-0 by nine-time champions Clarendon College in their quarter-final clash at the STETHS Sports Complex in Santa Cruz yesterday.

Central High School joined Clarendon in the semi-finals after an upset 2-0 victory over Edwin Allen High School at Foga Road High playing field.

Clarendon topped quarterfinal Group B with nine points, while Central, Edwin Allen and Dinthill all ended with three points. Central with a superior goal difference of minus one advanced ahead of Edwin Allen (minus three) and Dinthill (minus three).

Yesterday Clarendon got off to their usual slow start but grew into the game. They took the lead through Malachi Douglas who placed the ball into the left corner in the 32nd minute from the penalty spot after Kehem Dixon was brought down in the box.

Douglas was again on target from the penalty spot in the 43rd minute as Clarendon went into the break with a 2-0 lead.

Things went from from bad to worse for Dinthill four minutes into the second half as goalkeeper Asher Hutchinson picked up a straight red card after fouling a Clarendon player just outside the box. The St Catherine-based Dinthill team conceded a third penalty in the 59th minute which Kehem Dixon converted. Marques Reid completed the scoring for Clarendon in the 73rd minute.

Clarendon coach Lenworth Hyde said after the game that his team is improving with each game as they look to reclaim the daCosta Cup title.

"The aim is to keep improving. We lost the daCosta Cup last season and want to try and get it back. We are putting ourselves in the position to do that. It's continuous work and maintaining discipline and focus. If we continue to play like we did today we can get good results," Hyde said.

Oneil Thomas, coach of Dinthill, said the unfortunate events in the game made it difficult for them to pull back a goal in the last 10 minutes to book a place in the semifinals after hearing the score in the other group game.

"The penalties contributed to the demise of my team because it shut us down mentally," Thomas said.

Manchester clipped Manning's 2-1 yesterday to top Group A with nine points. Manning's ended with six. Both teams have qualified for the semi-finals ahead of yesterday's game. In the second game in the group Frome Technical and William Knibb High played to a 0-0 draw. Both finished the quarterfinals with a point each.