Fatima’s title hopes now dim.
By: Kwame Williams (Guardian).
Prolific scorer Atullah Guerra netted three times for defending champions Mucurapo Senior Comprehensive, as the team moved a step closer to retaining the North Zone League crown with a 7-0 thrashing of St Mary’s yesterday. on Fatima ground, Mucurapo.
Mucurapo, coming into the match three points ahead of former leaders Fatima, who has a game in hand, knew that victory and goals aplenty would put the team in a position to top the zone for the second consecutive year.
It was clear what the intentions were in just six minutes of play. Within, nippy striker Kevon Piper gave “Compre” the lead. This was followed by an Akim Armstrong strike five minutes later.
By half-time l, the score was 4-0 and the three points were already in the bag. It was now a matter of getting more goals to prevent Fatima, who would be equal to Mucurapo on points if it won its last two matches, from leading on goal difference.
When the referee blew the final whistle, “Compre” had added three more goals.
In the zone’s other key match-up, Fatima, knowing that St Mary’s would present the defending zonal champs with little opposition, had to beat Malick and score heavily in doing so at the Hasely Crawford Stadium to keep title hopes alive.
The urgency was evident in their play from the beginning and Fatima almost took the lead in the ninth minute, when striker Yohance Williams’ looping backward header from a Kevon Villaroel corner hit the top of the crossbar and went out.
Fatima’s opening goal came in the 13th minute, when the left-footed Villaroel received the ball on top Malick’s 18-yard box and unleashed a “scorcher” with his right-boot that Malick goalie Gabriel Daniel could do nothing about.
The team’s top scorer Makesi Lewis had a chance to make it 2-0 in the 30th, but he dragged his shot wide of the mark under pressure from a Malick defender.
Fatima was easily the better team in the first half, but the forward-players seemed to lack confidence in front of goal, choosing to pass the ball at times when taking a shot was undoubtedly the better option.
The team had to wait until the second half to get on the board again, Makesi Lewis bagging the second item after a neat one-two with his strike-partner Williams put him through on goal. He made no mistake from close range, calmly side-footing the ball past a stationary Daniel.
In the 72nd, the post came to Malick’s rescue, when Lewis’ sliding effort from a left-side cross by Machel James came off the post into Daniel’s arms.
Fatima was reduced to ten men in the 75th, after defender Elijah Belgrave senselessly elbowed an opponent in the stomach in plain view of the linesman, but even that failed to ease the pressure on Malick.
Kieran Marin got Fatima’s third goal in the 77th from a quickly-taken free-kick, which caught Malick sleeping. Fatima now must beat QRC by eight goals on Saturday if it wants to dethrone Mucurapo.
Yesterday's SSFL scores:[/b]
North Zone
Mucurapo 7 v St Mary's 0
Malick 0 v Fatima 3
East Zone
Hillview 0 v Arima 2
St Augustine 5 v San Juan 1
South Zone
Vessigny 2 v Moruga 0
Mayaro 1 v St Benedict's 4
Fyzabad 1 v Princes Town 0
