STETHS, Clarendon to meet in Ben Francis KO final

The two most successful teams in the Ben Francis KO competition, six-time champions St Elizabeth Technical High (STETHS) and four-time winners Clarendon College will meet in the 2024 final.

In the first game of the semifinal doubleheader at Glenmuir High yesterday, STETHS came from behind twice to edge last year's finalists Frome Technical 3-2 while Clarendon College, with a penalty in the 55th minute, clipped first-time semifinalists Denbigh High 1-0.

Frome took the lead after just four minutes in the opener when Antwaye Cooper scored with a header. STETHS tied the scored in the 17th minute when Justin McPherson scored from close range.

Stevaughn Spencer put Frome in front again in the 49th minute but STETHS drew level again when Kaieem Lewis scored a beauty in the 64th minute. Nine minutes later, Lewis scored his second and his team's third to seal the win for STETHS.

Winning coach Omar 'Rambo' Wedderburn said he had prepared well for his rivals.

"We knew coming into the game what to expect from Frome as we played them before," Wedderburn said. "After going behind, we were not worried as I knew we would have gotten back."

Losing coach Creighton Stephens was disappointed with his team's performance.

"Today the guys did not play like they wanted it as they were just going through the motion. They had a good first half but they were very flat during the second half," said Stephens.

In the second encounter, both teams got several opportunities to score in the first half but they were let down by poor finishing.

In the second half, Denbigh's top striker Lashawn Barnaby was kept very quiet by defenders Nayar Anderson, Javon Gordon and Roshawn Sterling.

With the half just 10 minutes old, Denbigh gave up a soft penalty and Justin McPherson made no mistake with his shot.

Clarendon's coach Lenworth Hyde hailed the discipline of his team.

"Today was a good performance from the team as they were very disciplined in their play. Denbigh put us under pressure as they got some looks on our goal but defensively our guys were good," said Hyde.

Hyde is happy that his team will be playing for a title.

"Some people call the Ben Francis title a loser's cup but a title is a title and we are looking forward to the final," said Hyde.

After their best-ever season at this level, losing coach Garfield Carney said his team started a bit flat.

"I think the Clarendon team pressured us a lot in the first half and I was happy when I heard the whistle to end the half. In the second half, I tried to change the system but it just did not work out," Carney said.