D’CUP TEAM IN QUARTER-FINALS AFTER DRAW WITH DINTHILL
OCHO RIOS, St Ann; Nov. 3, 2024
Ocho Rios High are the only team from the entire North Coast belt left standing following the end of the round of 16 in the Wata DaCosta Cup football competition.
The team from Ochi, on Saturday, November 2, pulled off a spectacular 2-2 draw in a match against Dinthill Technical to claim the second spot in their group and push on to the quarter-final round.
Ochi High exceeded expectations of many football analysts and D’Cup watchers especially because they have had almost no support from the business community in and around the tourism resort.
Ochi have been showing strength and grit throughout this season and their character was on display again Saturday. They went behind with two lapses from the goalkeeper Maleek Martin who has had a brilliant season, altogether letting in eight goals.
Dinthill who had survived waves of attack in the first half that ended 0-0 pushed hard at the start of the second and their efforts were successful. First with a penalty and then the keeper mishandled one that was poked in by the boys from Linstead, St Catherine.
(Keanu Reid’s brace ensured Ochi advanced)
If the score had stayed that way Ochi would have been dumped out of the competition. But late in the game Keanu Reid pulled one back and in time added he got the second to bring Ochi level and set the bench and supporters dancing.
Reid has now scored 20 goals in this his farewell season.
Ocho Rios are now looking to him and the others for more goals when the quarter-final round starts Wednesday.
Ochi are in the group with Central High, Garvey Maceo and Munro — all former winners of the competition and all highly tipped to at least make it to the semi-finals.
As Coach Veron Peterkin likes to say and said after they whipped Happy Grove 5-1, “just one game at a time.”
Said Eyan Kean, manager of the Ocho Rios High team: “We know at this stage there is no easy team and we are not going to be easy either.”
