Western Bureau:

With champions St James High left idle as a consequence of the late withdrawal of Maldon High, many-time champions Cornwall College stole the spotlight in Zone A of the 2009 ISSA/Pepsi/Digicel daCosta Cup yesterday afternoon, when they clipped Green Pond High 2-1.

Cornwall College's win, which marked a hat-trick of victories in their three outings to date, lifts their points tally to nine, the same as St James. However, Cornwall could be impacted by the withdrawal of Maldon, the team they defeated 4-3 in their opening game.

In a game where they enjoyed greater dominance, Cornwall College scored through Jahmel Whittaker and skipper Oraine Braham. Cavantai Reid got Green Pond's lone goal.

Miserable chapter

In the other Zone A game, Muschett Comprehensive High added another miserable chapter to Herbert Morrison's dismal season, handing them a 4-3 defeat - their third defeat in four outings.

Tajay Moore and Amanda Williams got two goals each for Muschett.

"We played a very good game and we are extremely pleased with this result," said Brenton Sterling, manager of the Muschett team. "This will do a lot to lift the spirit of the team for the upcoming games."

Maldon's withdrawal, which has left Zone A with six teams, reportedly came as a result of them breaching some of the eligibility requirements laid down by the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA), which runs the competition.

Check-up

A source at the school confirmed that a team from ISSA recently visited the school to check on the records of the boys involved in the daCosta Cup.

In Zone L (a), the red-hot Port Antonio made it four wins from four starts with a big 3-0 win against Buff Bay, while St Elizabeth Technical High School joined Munro College atop the Zone E standings with a 3-0 blanking of Lacovia, which lofted them to seven points. Munro drew 1-1 with Balaclava.

The competition will continue this afternoon with a total of nine games spanning zones D, J and K. Among the interesting matchups should be the Zone D top-of-the-table clash between leaders Marcus Garvey High (9) and second-place Cedric Titus (7); and the top-of-the-table Zone J showdown between leaders Dinthill Technical (10) and second place Bog Walk (9), which have a perfect 100 per cent win record from three games.

Zone D: A'Gallimore vs Brown's Town at Rio Nuevo, York Castle vs William Knibb at York Castle, Cedric Titus vs Marcus Garvey at Clark's Town

Zone J: McGrath vs Charlemont at McGrath, Dinthill vs Bog Walk at Dinthill, Tacky vs Glengoffe at Tacky

Zone K: Oracabessa vs Islington at Jack's River, Brimmervale vs Iona at Clembhards Park, Annotto Bay vs St Mary High at Westmoreland Oval,

Yesterday's Results

Zone A: Muschett 4 Herbert Morrison 3, Cornwall College 2 Green Pond 1

Zone C: Little London 2 Grange Hill 1, Petersfield 0 Mannings 2

Zone E: Black River 4 Newell 0, STETHS 3 Lacovia 0, Balaclava 1 Munro 1

Zone F: Bellefield 7 Decarteret 0, Belair 2 Cross Keys 2, Manchester 6 May Day 1

Zone G: Spalding 3 Knox College 1, Edwin Allen 4 Porus 0, Holmwood 2 Christiana 0

Zone I: Glenmuir 0 Kemps Hill 0, Zone L (a), Titchfield 2 Fair Prospect 2, Port Antonio 3 Buff Bay 0

Zone L (b): Paul Bogle 1 Morant Bay 0, Seaforth 4 Yallahs 3