ONLY TEAM FROM ST ANN, PORTLAND & ST MARY TO ADVANCE IN D’CUP
OCHO RÍOS, St Ann; Oct. 20, 2025
Ocho Rios High are carrying the flag for the daCosta Cup teams from the north eastern parishes of St Ann, St Mary, and Portland – covered by the North Coast Times — into the Round of 16 in the rural area schoolboy football championship.
Ocho High went to Rusea’s and beat them three goals to one in a thrilling encounter. “We left them crying in Hanover,” said an Ochi official.
Rusea’s are a highly respected and accomplished “big name” in schoolboy football, making the Ochi win even more praiseworthy.
(THE CONFIDENT OCHI HIGH SQUAD: Including ace striker Kaniel Brown, 5th from left back row; Captain Kawayne McInnis, the man to beat in defense, first from right back row; Dario James, third from left back row, and the very slippery #10 Nathan Whitehorn, second from left back row)
The 3-1 win meant Ochi had a perfect win record across their three matches in the zone, scoring nine points. Their first match in the Group of 16 is against Old Harbour High of St Catherine, at Drax Hall on Wednesday, October 22
Team manager Eyan Keane said, ”I must give Rusea’s some amount of credit because they came with a plan to get early goals.” Indeed, Rusea’s got the first goal in the 17th minute and dominated up to about halfway through the first half, much to the delight of the crowd in Lucea, Hanover.
But then, the Ochi team started to come into their own and equalized through a brilliant diving header from Dario James in the 40th minute. The teams went in at halftime 1-1.
The second half belonged to Ocho Rios, especially because ace striker Kaniel Brown, who had been under tight marking in the first half, was able to lift and free himself.
His first goal in the match came about 10 minutes into the second half and the third, from a cracking free kick, to seal Ochi’s domination of the match.
The Group in which Ochi are playing includes STETHS, who are group winners from their zone, Old Harbour, and either Frome or Kemps Hill, based on the outcome of a match rescheduled for Monday, October 20.
(Ferncourt High won their final match and are confident they will build on this young team.)
Meanwhile, though no other team from any of the three north eastern parishes advanced to the round of 16, there were some credible performances. From Group 4, Ferncourt ended with 3 points, coming in a 2-1 win over Knox College away on Saturday; St Mary High got three point too, beating Alphansus Davis 2-1, in a tough zone topped by Glenmuir and Manchester High. Also in a group of death, Port Antonio got three points in Group 6, topped by Dinthill and Clarendon College. Titchfield got 2 points from two draws in a group topped by Garvey Maceo and Old Harbour. York Castle failed to get a point from their three matches.
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