Defending champions Garvey Maceo secured a 2-0 home win over their closest challengers, Vere Technical, to take over top spot in Zone N of the ISSA/Digicel daCosta Cup on Saturday.
Penalties from Nevaughn Myrie in the 48th minute and Orlando Lawrence in the 91st means Garvey Maceo now find themselves top with 13 points from five games, three points ahead of their Saturday opponents. Foga Road also has 10 points in third thanks to a 1-0 win over Kemps Hill at home.
Irwin, after three straight draws, returned to winning ways with a 2-0 win over Green Pond at Green Pond to remain top of Zone A. They now have 18 points from eight games. Green Pond has 10 points from seven games and started the day in second but were passed after 12-time champions Cornwall College secured a crucial 4-0 win over Anchovy at Irwin to move to 12 points from their seven outings.
At the Orchard Sports Complex, Frome Technical comfortably beat Hopewell 5-1 for their sixth win in as many games to lead Zone B ahead of Rusea’s who has 15 points from their six games.
William Knibb leads Zone C with a perfect 15 points from five games after a 9-0 hammering of Muschett High at Muschett. So far, they have amassed 33 goals and are one of only two teams yet to concede a goal in this year’s daCosta Cup, the other being Zone E leaders STETHS. Cedric Titus can also boast a perfect record through five games in Zone C after a 2-1 win over Herbert Morrison at Herbert Morrison.
The only Zone D game on Saturday saw Petersfield got to Godfrey Stewart and get an important 4-1 win over the hosts to strengthen their hold on second in the zone. Going into the game, Petersfield had 12 points, 10 behind leaders Manning’s, while Godfrey Stewart had nine but had played one more game than their opponents.
STETHS are still perfect after eight games in Zone E thanks to a comfortable 6-0 win over Sydney Pagon at home. As previously mentioned, the five-time champions have still yet to concede a goal and have scored 20. In the day’s other zone game, Munro College beat Maggotty 1-0 at home to join B. B Coke on 13 points from eight games, eleven points behind the leaders from St. Elizabeth.
Zone G leaders Holmwood Technical were held to a 0-0 draw by Mile Gully at home to move to 14 points from six matches, four points ahead of Christiana High who beat Alphansus Davis 2-1 at Alphansus Davis. Mile Gully also has 10 points in third. Christiana has played a game less than both Holmwood and Mile Gully.
Clarendon College now has 18 points from a possible 18 in Zone H after a 3-0 win over Lennon High at Toll Gate. Edwin Allen are now seven points behind in second after a 5-0 win over Thompson Town at home. Lennon are four points behind Edwin Allen in third.
Marcus Garvey got their first win of the season in their sixth game in Zone I by beating Ocho Rios 1-0 at Drax Hall.
There were 17 goals in three games in Zone J. Westmoreland Oval was the venue as leaders Tacky and Annotto Bay battled to a 3-3 draw. Tacky now have 16 points from eight games. St, Mary High moved within three points of Tacky in second thanks to a 3-1 win over Wycliffe Martin High at the latter. St. Mary Tech are third with 11 points after going to Horace Clarke and beating the hosts 4-2.
Fair Prospect battled to a 4-4 draw with Port Antonio at home in Zone O for their first point of the season while leaders Happy Grove and second-placed Titchfield both have nine points from five games after a 2-2 draw at Hector’s River.
RB Leipzig chief determined to seal top-four Bundesliga finish
RB Leipzig are determined to wrap up a top-four Bundesliga finish, despite fifth spot possibly earning a place in next season's Champions League, the club's chief business officer said on Thursday.
Leipzig, who host Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, are fourth on 59 points, two ahead of Dortmund with four games left in the season. A win would put the Saxony club firmly in the driving seat for a top-four finish.
The top four qualify automatically for the Champions League group stage, although Germany is likely to earn a fifth spot as one of the top two in UEFA's coefficient table depending on the remaining results in European competition this season.
"That (potential fifth spot) involves a lot of data and statistics," said Leipzig CBO Johann Plenge in a media call. "We are not spending too much time on this discussion."
"This is not something we take too much into consideration. We have the ambition to be a top-four club and to be that you have to finish in at least fourth place," he said.
Leipzig, who will go on a U.S. tour from July 28-Aug. 4 and will play Aston Villa in New Jersey, also competed in the Champions League this season, losing to Real Madrid 2-1 on aggregate in the round of 16.
"The match (against Dortmund) is extremely important. We are very focused and 100% confident we will give everything on the pitch," Plenge said.
"I think we have a very good situation to finish the season as a top-four club."
Plenge said for the new season the club planned to hold on to their top performers, unlike last year when several key players, including Josko Gvardiol, Dominik Szoboszlai, Christopher Nkunku and Konrad Laimer, left, forcing a big overhaul.
"We had a very intense transfer period last summer. We developed some great players [for] the Premier League. We want a less intense transfer period and to keep the players together," Plenge said.
"Having them in our team next season is what we will do in the summer."
'There are no gimmies' – Dyche warns Everton not to step off the pedal
Everton's big win over Liverpool shows they are "sticking to the task", so says Sean Dyche, who knows his team must keep their feet on the ground as they aim to overcome Brentford.
The Toffees won 2-0 at Goodison Park on Wednesday, taking a huge stride towards Premier League safety and denting their rivals' title hopes in the process.
Everton moved onto 33 points, eight clear of 18th-placed Luton Town with four games remaining.
It means that, should Luton fail to beat Wolves on Saturday, Everton - who face Brentford at home in an evening kick-off - would be able to ensure their safety with a victory.
Dyche, though, is taking nothing for granted.
Reflecting on the derby victory, Dyche said: "Well, it certainly says we're sticking to task, whatever comes at us. I'm certainly proud of that, because we've had some ups and downs ourselves.
"But it has to be parked because another one is coming around. Another important game, another chance, another opportunity to play at Goodison and get three points, so there is a lot on the next game. So they do have to have a window to enjoy that last night.
"That's the challenge. Of course, I said enjoy the moment, but I said let's go and do it again.
"It's a decent outfit in Brentford. They had a funny spell themselves and have come out of that.
"It's not easy. There are no 'gimmies' in this league. I praised the players first last night and then said 'Right, tomorrow we come in and get on with business'.
"We've taken big steps, but there are more to come. We can control the situation ourselves, and that's what we have always aimed to do - even with the points taken away and all that sort of stuff. Grip hold of it and let's run with it and I think we're beginning to show that again. Three wins out of four now: three home wins, clean sheets, good signs."
Brentford boss Thomas Frank said: "It's been a tough season - everyone is in the Premier League, no matter where you are in the table. But this season in particular because of injuries and other things that have been happening."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Everton - Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Calvert-Lewin was immense against Liverpool, scoring for the third time in four Premier League appearances. The striker netted in Everton's 3-1 win over Brentford in the reverse fixture in September.
Brentford - Bryan Mbeumo
Mbeumo has been involved in nine goals in his last 10 Premier League starts, while Brentford have won 39 per cent of their league games when the Cameroonian has started this season (7/18), compared to 12.5% when he has not (2/16).
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Brentford have scored eight goals in their last two Premier League away games, netting five on the road for the first time ever in the top flight last time out at Luton.
Everton have opened the scoring in each of their last four Premier League meetings with Brentford, doing so in the opening 10 minutes of the match on three occasions in that run.
None of the 10 league meetings between Everton and Brentford at Goodison Park have ended in a draw, with the Toffees winning seven of these to the Bees' three. However, the Opta supercomputer is predicting a draw is a likely result.
Having been unbeaten in their first three Premier League games against Everton (W2 D1), Brentford have now lost their last two against the Toffees.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Everton - 32.4%
Brentford - 38.2%
Draw - 29.4%
Frazsiers Whip to represent Jamaica in inaugural Concacaf Women's Champions Cup
As expected, Frazsiers Whip will be Jamaica’s representative in the inaugural Concacaf Women’s Champions Cup, a new annual tournament that includes the best clubs from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean and crowns the region’s women’s club champion.
The tournament is also the sole path through which clubs in Concacaf can qualify for the new FIFA Women’s Club World Cup, which FIFA has committed to launching in the near future.
By virtue of winning the 2022/23 Jamaica Women’s Premier League, Frazsiers Whip booked their spot for the first edition of the competition, which will feature 11 clubs from seven Member Associations.
The other confirmed participants are Canada’s 2023 League One Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship winners Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Costa Rica’s LD Alajuelense, Mexico’s Tigres UANL Femenil, as well as the United States trio of Gotham FC, San Diego Wave FC and Portland Thorns FC.
El Salvador and Panama are yet to confirm their representatives for their solitary spots, while Mexico’s two other representatives will be known at the conclusion of the Liga MX Clausura.
Interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert, who guided Frazsiers Whip to league honours, welcomed the move by Concacaf, which he believes will offer some exposure for local players, despite the gulf in class between other leagues around the region and Jamaica's Women's League.
"It's important for local football, however, I don't think any of our local teams will be able to match up with the teams from Mexico or United States. Those clubs are professional clubs playing in a fully professional leagues, while ours is nowhere close to their standard," Gilbert told SportsMax.TV in a recent interview.
"But it is good, it is more football and more exposure for our local players. At the same time, I think it sends a signal of how important it is for us to look at what we are doing in terms of resources and surfaces for our local teams. So, it is good move by Concacaf, and I think it's for us now here in Jamaica to look at what we are doing and try to improve the quality of our league," he added.
The official draw for the tournament is scheduled for June 6.
Action in the Concacaf Women’s Champions Cup is expected to get underway in August, with a Preliminary Round, followed by Group and Knockout Stage play. The Preliminary Round Play-in will be a single-leg match between two clubs, with the winner advancing to the Group Stage.
The Group Stage will feature 10 clubs divided into two groups of five clubs each. Each club will play every club in its group once, for a total of four matches per club (two at home and two away). At the conclusion of Group Stage play, the group winners and runners-up (four clubs) will progress to the competition’s final four.
The semifinals, third-place encounter, and final, where the first-ever Concacaf Women’s Champions Cup winners will be crowned, will be centralized in a venue to be announced.
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