Jamaica Gleaner
Published: Thursday | December 24, 2009
Home : Sport
East-west Christmas showdown in MoBay
Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

Top-flight football will be on show at Jarrett Park, Montego Bay, tomorrow at 7 p.m. when a select Kingston All-Star team engages its Montego Bay counterparts in the first of two friendly exhibition games to honour six of the stalwarts of Jamaica's 1998 FIFA World Cup campaign.

The games, which are being staged by Montego Bay business-man George O'Connor of Club Storm fame, will see some of the proceeds going to the selected players as well as to charities of their choice.

The second game will be played at the Waterhouse Mini Stadium in Kingston on Wednesday, December 30.

"We intend to make this an annual affair to recognise those players who helped us to qualify for the 1998 World Cup in France," O'Connor stated in announcing the games. "This year, we have selected three from the west and three from Kingston to benefit from the proceeds of these games."

The three western players who will benefit from tomorrow's game at Jarrett Park are former national captain and star goalkeeper Warren Barrett, stalwart defender Durrent 'Tatty' Brown and the late midfield dynamo Stephen 'Shorty' Malcolm.

Former utility player Onandi Lowe, striker extraordinaire Walter 'Blacka' Boyd and defender Barrington 'Cobra' Gaynor, who is now confined to a wheelchair, are the players selected to benefit from the second game in Kingston.

"The proceeds for Stephen 'Shorty' Malcolm will go to his immediate family, while the benefit to some of the other players will either go to them personally or to a charity of their choice," said O'Connor.

In a bid to add a fresh flavour to the games, both the Montego Bay and Kingston teams will be featuring a blend of former stars and some of the outstanding players from the just-concluded 2009 schoolboy football season.

The players confirmed for the St James team are: Warren Barrett, Rodney Barr, Devon Ricketts, Allan Ottey, Paul Davis, Durrent Brown, Venton Evans, Athol Shearer, Delton Clarke, Timothy Graham, Garnett Denton, Kenneth Gaynor, Oniel Robinson, Dane Randall, Asornie Bingham, Phillip Wong and Theodore Whitmore.

Among those listed for the Kingston aggregation are: Walter Boyd, Onandi Lowe, Linval Dixon, Irvino English, Jermaine Hue, Kevin Wilson, Cornel Chin-Sue, Donovan Hodges, Steve Green, Kevin Lamey, Andre Derby, Jermaine Taylor, Dicoy Williams, George Vernal, Keniel Moodie, Kemar Daley and Darren Mattocks.


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