Adrian Frater, News Editor

WESTERN BUREAU:

THE FIRST slot in the final of the Ben Francis Cup Knockout will be decided this afternoon when the red-hot Garvey Maceo and Dinthill Technical square-off in the competition's first semi-final at the Spanish Town Prison Oval at 3:00 p.m.

The teams, who qualified for the Ben Francis KO by winning their zones of the ISSA/Pepsi/Digicel daCosta Cup with unbeaten records, secured their semi-final places on Saturday in contrasting style. The Dinthill team, which scored a first-round 2-0 win over Brimmer-vale, clipped Fair Prospect 1-0 on Saturday to secure their slot in the semi-finals, while Garvey Maceo, who drew a first-round bye, were most impressive in blanking Clarendon College 3-0.

Looking to today's game, both coaches are confident that they will be the ones meeting the winners of tomorrow's second semi-final clash between Rusea's and Grange Hill in Saturday's final at Jarrett Park.

Tough nut to crack

The Garvey Maceo team, which conquered all - including reigning daCosta Cup champions Glenmuir, in taking Zone I honours, should be a tough nut to crack as they are yet to taste defeat this season, and have quality players in prolific striker Ashton Bennett (23) and Andre Lindsay. "We had a few niggling injuries which we have now sorted out so we are ready," said Garvey Maceo coach Jeffrey Hewitt. "We are extremely confident that we will be one of the teams in Saturday's final."

The Dinthill team, which is also unbeaten albeit with a less glamorous record, is also bubbling with confidence and, according to veteran coach Frank Brown, they are looking to gain their first hold on the Ben Francis Cup. While emphasising a team approach, much is expected from Kevin Skyers and Oswaldo Hunter.

"Our approach this season has been to climb one hurdle at a time, so now that we are in the semi-final, our immediate focus is to get into the final," said the astute Brown. "We would like to win the Ben Francis Cup and to do so we will have to get into the final first."