Pres slams Preysal 11-1.
By: Kendall Garcia (Guardian).[/size]
SSFL RBTT Inter-Col
Memucan Stephen scored a handful as Presentation College hammered Preysal High School 11-1 in their Secondary Schools Football League Central Zone RBTT Inter-Col quarterfinal at Presentation College Ground, Chaguanas.
Stephen started the onslaught as early as the fifth minute but Preysal, who will campaign in the Championship Division next year after winning the Senior Division, drew level three minutes later through Akido Joseph.
It then took Presentation until the 28th minute to breach Preysal backline again via another Stephen goal which began the free-flow.
The efficient Stephen then added strikes in the 39th, 64th, and 77th minute while Derone Davis and Satyam Pollard each added two goals and Dwayne Nicome and Issiah Smith, the others.
With the win Presentation advances to Saturday’s semifinal where it faces the winner of the Chaguanas Senior Comprehensive/Tabaquite Composite match which was locked at 0-0 after 90 minutes, last night.
At the Ato Boldon Stadium, Waterloo High School got a goal on either side of the half from Wendell Archibald to hold off Marabella Junior Secondary 3-2 and now meets holders Carapichaima Senior Comprehensive in Saturday’s semis from 3 pm.
In the East Zone, reigning zonal Inter-Col holders, St Augustine Senior Comprehensive came from a goal down to beat Trinity College East, winners of the East Zone’s Senior Division, 3-1 at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar.
The “Green Machine” who rested a few of its first team regulars was surprisingly locked at 0-0 after 45 minutes with Trinity.
Seven minutes after the restart, Trinity silenced the St Augustine crowd when captain Marvin Springer converted penalty past goalkeeper Joel Johnson after the latter brought him down in the area.
The lead only lasted nine minutes as substitute Brandon Rupert got St Augustine levelled, off a Kareem Paul assist, and six minutes later Paul found the mark himself for a 2-1 advantage.
Two minutes from the end Theon Forde-Edwards completed the scoring for St Augustine to put an end to Trinity’s upset hopes.
In the second match at Malabar, second-half goals from Hayden De Verteuil, Nicholas Armstrong and Darius Rollins secured Arima Senior Comprehensive a 4-0 win over Hillview College and a semifinal date with St Augustine on Monday at the same venue from 3 pm.
National RBTT holders San Juan Senior Comprehensive meets Sangre Grande Senior Secondary and Toco plays El Dorado Senior Comprehensive in the zone’s two other quarterfinals at Malabar tomorrow from 3 pm.
Yesterday’s results
East Zone[/b]
ST AUGUSTINE 3 (Brandon Rupert 61st, Kareem Paul 67th, Theon Forde-Edwards 88th) vs TRINITY (East) 1 (Marvin Springer 52nd pen).
ARIMA 4 (Hayden De Verteuil 53rd, Nicholas Armstrong 78th, 90th, Darius Rollins 89th) vs HILLVIEW 0.
Central Zone
WATERLOO 3 (Wendell Archibald 43rd, 65th, Stephen Matamoro 32nd) vs MARABELLA JR SEC 2 (Neil Alexander 46th, Atkin Wright 71st).
PRESENTATION 11 (Memucan Stephen 5th, 28th, 39th, 64th, 77th, Derone Davis 55th, 84th, Satyam Pollard 69th, 89th, Dwayne Nicome 57th, Issiah Smith 80th) vs PREYSAL HIGH 1 (Akido Joseph 8th).
Today’s quarterfinal matches
North:[/b]
Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.
St Anthony’s vs St Mary’s, 3 pm.
QRC vs Mucurapo, 5 pm.
Tobago:
Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet.
Speyside vs Bishops, 4 pm.
Green Machine move on.
By: Kern De Freitas (Express).[/size]
St Augustine Secondary Comprehensive learned yesterday they can ill afford to become lethargic in the RBTT InterCol competition, while Trinity College East got a sneak preview into Championship Division football.
In the end, the battle between the two proved no contest at all, as the "Green Machine" rolled away 3-1 winners in their East Zone quarter-final at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar.
St Augustine will now meet Arima Secondary Comprehensive, who eased past Hillview College 4-0 to book their place in the East "semis".
Still, Trinity can claim they did test the nerves of their more seasoned opponents, in an encounter that did not produce the type of fluent, dominant football expected of the 2006 Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) "Big Five" champs.
The Arima venue was hardly bulging with St Augustine supporters, with Trinity's handful of followers outnumbering the Green Machine faithful.
St Augustine failed to inspire the few hoping for a big win from them in the first period, their best chance coming from national Under-17 player Daniel Joseph, who had a good solo effort thwarted by Trinity goalie Christopher Edwards. And as the seconds wound down to the interval, Trinity grew in confidence that they could upstage their opponents.
That opportunity came to Trinity seven minutes into the second half. Skipper Marvin Springer-Trinity's best player on the day-made one of his searching runs down the left side and was felled in the six-metre box.
Springer then stepped up to bury the resultant penalty past St Augustine custodian Joel Johnson for a 1-0 lead.
Trinity's players seemed almost surprised they had gone ahead, so jubilant was their celebrations and lusty the applause in the stands.
But the concession only succeeded in causing the Green Machine to sputter, then roar to life.
Substitute Brandon Rupert equalised in the 61st, after some consistent pressure. He embarked on a strong solo run towards the penalty area, evading two defenders before piercing Edwards' net as he advanced.
Six minutes went by before St Augustine finally grabbed the lead. Experienced striker Kareem Paul, who had been somewhat lethargic for most of the encounter, collected a pass down the right and outpaced his marker, cut inside the area and rifled past Edwards.
Johnson's heart must have fluttered on 77 minutes, when Springer raced onto a through ball and beat him, but also the far post, missing a glorious chance to level proceedings.
Springer would have felt the miss when another substitute, Theon Forde-Edwards, put the match beyond Trinity.
Rupert played a neat back-heel to Forde-Edwards and he obliged, burying his first-time shot from 18 metres out to cap off a 3-1 win.
Perhaps St Augustine coach Michael Grayson and company can argue that almost three weeks' rest following their league campaign may have made his players start sluggishly. For their sakes, he would also be hoping yesterday's match is enough to set his team back on track and ready for the tough road ahead.
