Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
Members of the Garvey Maceo team hold aloft the daCosta Cup after they defeated Glenmuir High in a penalty shoot-out at Brancourt yesterday.

Richard Bryan, Freelance Writer

MANDEVILLE:

GARVEY MACEO claimed their first daCosta Cup crown following one of the most closely fought finals in recent times against parish mates and defending champions Glenmuir at Brancourt yesterday.

Penalties cruelly decided a contest that lacked goals for two hours of regulation and extra-time action which was still very competitive and absorbing.

In the end, it took an outstanding performance from injured goalkeeper Andre Russell to seal victory with two penalty saves from Glenmuir's national players John-Ross Doyley and Marvin Boothe for the Vernamfield school to win 4-3 as nightfall closed in.

Captain Ashton Bennett, who was lacklustre in the first half but menacing many times in the second with penetrating runs at the Glenmuir defence, struck the first penalty, while the others were scored by Peter Brown, Francis Ebanks and Romaine Medley.

Successful coach Jeffrey Hewitt was almost at a loss of words to explain the victory but the school's board chairman, Michael Ricketts, summed it up beautifully.

"Something like this must have loads of positive implications," he told The Gleaner. "This is the first time in the history of the school that it has won two titles in the same season. The life of the school started at about 1980 and we have been there and thereabouts for the past seven years and finally these set of players have pulled through."

Glenmuir's coach, Jackie Walters, said little but, as he trudged away, he uttered: "Bwoy, I can hardly believe it. We just failed to capitalise on our chances and that was just basic football. The next thing, my national players kicked away their penalties."