Date: 5/10/18
The National Knock-Out Cup will enter the semi-final stage on Saturday October 6 at Up Park Camp, when defending champion Duhaney Park Redsharks go up against bitter rival GC Foster College at 2pm.
Both teams battled for the title last year and it was the men from Duhaney Park who stamped their class to claim the coveted cup. In the second semi-final at 4pm, the Jamaica Defence Force Warriors battle longtime nemesis, Spanish Town Vikings. The game will be a repeat of last year’s third place play-off, JDF claiming honours on that occasion.
The teams booked their semi-final appearance with quarter-final victories last Saturday with varying degrees of difficulty. Duhaney Park had a hard fought 10-0 win over Caribbean Maritime University Spartans, GC Foster College bullied Mountain View Eagles 40-0, JDF scored a comfortable 22-0 win over the University of Technology Knights and Spanish Town Vikings pulled off a late 4-2 win over a tough Mico University Crocs.
Duhaney Park chases their third major title of the year after securing the National Club Championship Grand Finals and League Leaders Shield. They have also won the previous two installments of the Knock-Out Cup. The competition has seen remarkable growth with a record 12 teams participating in 2018, six more than 2017.
Director of Rugby Romeo Monteith believes the semis will be close affairs;
“Duhaney Park and GC Foster are consistently the two best local sides. One must go out in this semis and I believe it will be a battle royal between two evenly matched teams. JDF should have the measure over Spanish Town based on history, however, with so much at stake, I believe the Vikings will make a game of it and are more than capable of springing an upset.”
