Fatima advances to Intercol semis.
By: Kwame Williams (Guardian).[/size]
It was an eight-goal thriller at the Hasely Crawford Stadium yesterday, with defending national champion Fatima College emerging 5-3 victors over Signal Hill in the quarterfinal round of the RBTT Intercol competition.
Fatima, despite getting the victory, can consider itself lucky, as it needed extra time to get past a highly skilled and motivated Signal Hill outfit.
The Tobagonians twice came from behind to level the contest and even after having their starting goal-keeper Zicomo Denoon red-carded in the 63rd minute for blocking a shot from Fatima’s Stephen Knox with his hand outside of the box, they still managed to take the lead.
Fatima had the brighter start though, keeping its opponent under intense pressure in the opening 20 minutes. Its enterprise paid off in the eighth minute when speedy striker Jevon Morris put the North Intercol winner ahead.
Midfielder Kieran Marin, who performed commendably, put Morris through on goal with a neat diagonal pass. He hit past the outstretched left-arm of Denoon with his right boot.
Marin almost doubled his team’s advantage in the 15th when he was given time and space to shoot on the edge of the box, but his curling attempt missed its mark by inches.
The goal seemed to shock Signal Hill back to life and it started attacking its opponent down the flanks through skilful duo Ocey Phillips and Diego Nicholson. The ploy saw the five-time Intercol winner getting behind Fatima’s defence and causing problems for 15-year-old keeper Andrew Poon-King, who deputised for national Under-20 goalie Adrian Foncette.
An error from Poon-King allowed the Tobago champ back into the match, when he failed to hold a free-kick from captain Curtis Moses. Nicholson was on hand to drive home the rebound.
Morris restored his team’s lead three minutes before the break, running onto a through ball from Sherron Joseph in the box and finding the net with his left foot this time.
Fatima were slow out of the blocks in the second period, but almost got a third item in the 57th when Denoon inexplicably kicked the ball straight to Morris just outside of the area. Under no pressure, he hit overbar, however.
It was a miss the Mucurapo team would rue in the 59th. Signal Hill’s Anderson Taylor picked up the ball close to the right touch-line, made his way infield and, with his left foot, intelligently curled the ball around a stranded Poon-King.
Nicholson then put ten-man Signal Hill ahead in the 71st, heading pass Poon-King after the Fatima defence failed to clear a centre from Moses.
But the boys in blue and gold clawed their way back in the second minute of stoppage time, defender Elisha Belgrave latching onto a diagonal pass from Knox and firing past substitute goalie Shaquille King.
Fatima ended the match as a contest in the first half of extra-time, with substitutes Yohance Williams and Chad De Freitas getting a goal each.
Fatima will now face St Augustine Secondary Comprehensive in the InterCol "semis", after the Green Machine earned a 4-2 triumph from the penalty spot after being locked 1-1 with Mucurapo Senior Comprehensive at the end of extra time.
Stephan Chang, A Campbell, Ryan O’Neil and Glynn Franklyn all converted their kicks while Kevon Piper, Kevon Dove and Al Muhammed replied for Mucurapo.
But Ricardo Peltier’s shot was saved by St Augustine goalkeeper Joel Johnson.
Johnson redeemed himself after an embarrassing effort to allow Peltier to open the scoring for the Selris Figaro-coached Mucurapo in the 13th minute, allowing Peltier’s shot to go through his hands and legs and into the back of the net.
But Trinidad and Tobago Under-17 forward Daniel Joseph responded for the Michael Grayson-coached “ALGICO Green Machine” in the 20th, and the scores will remain tied for the remaining 70 minutes, and 20 minutes of extra time.
