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McGrath looking to build d’Cup legacy
December 06, 2024
As they prepare for their first-ever ISSA daCosta Cup final on Saturday at the National Stadium, McGrath High School's head coach Jermaine Thomas said the team's rise in stature could be the foundation of cementing their legacy as a top schoolboy football programme.
McGrath were in fine attacking form on Wednesday when they thumped Ocho Rios High 6-1 in their semi-final to book a date with destiny against Garvey Maceo.
Thomas said the history-making achievement of qualifying for their first daCosta Cup final was the product of the hard work by his team heading into the season.
"We're happy. We have been working hard the whole summer and reaching here is always a good feeling so it is for us now to show Jamaica what we're made of," he said. "I know the guys will be coming to the party. They will be playing because we will never back down or be afraid or scared of anybody."
Thomas explained as the team continues to break new barriers, the football programme is further cementing their legacy.
McGrath has seen a meteoric rise over the past few years under the guidance of Thomas, who had led the team to the daCosta Cup semi-finals in 2019.
He followed that success by claiming the school's first-ever schoolboy football title, lifting the ISSA Ben Francis Cup KO with a 1-0 win over Frome Technical last year.
Now set to make their first daCosta Cup final appearance, Thomas hopes McGrath can continue their trend and become a rising powerhouse in rural schoolboy football competitions.
"It is good because the Ben Francis trophy would have really put the icing on the cake for us last year," he affirmed.
"In 2019, we were semi-finalists and then this year we were in the Champions Cup again. It augurs well and I think once we utilise this opportunity and work hard to get our programme that we have now to go beyond five or 10 years, then the future should be bright for us."
McGrath now faces a stern test in Garvey Maceo who are no strangers to the daCosta Cup finals, having last won the title in 2021.
Thomas is confident of his team's chances and stated they will play in their usual style of football seen throughout the season.
"It comes down to how disciplined we'll be tactically and once we get that right, the kind of shape and the kind of organisation we need, then I think the sky is the limit.
"Our idea is to always break it down. We'll do it a quarter by quarter, 15 minutes by 15 minutes and half by half. We hope to play the game on its merit, assessing, evaluating and then taking our chances and defending as astute as we'd want to."
