St Anthony’s College got their fifth win in as many matches in the Premier Division of the BG T&T Secondary Schools Football League yesterday, with a 3-2 win over Shiva Boys Hindu College. But they were made them battle to remain the only team with a perfect record.
But the result at their Westmoorings base came at a cost for the “Tigers,” with Andrew Rullow being red carded in the 77th minute.
It was also a match that should have the St Anthony’s think tank reviewing a performance that could well have seen them concede their first defeat. However, Kwesi Allen ensured the match would end in the home team’s favour with a hat-trick, including the winner in stoppage time.
Shiva Boys got their goals from Tequan Rodriguez and Kadeem Ashford on either side of half time.
Shiva might feel a bit aggrieved not to share the points, or maybe even win, but made a few too many defensive errors after playing well to twice edge ahead. They also failed to capitalise on their man advantage in the last 13 minutes.
The visitors also had a shout for penalty late in the match turned down by the referee, who drew criticism from fans at both ends of the field for his officiating, and an earful from an angry St Anthony’s coach Nigel Grosvenor in protest at Rullow’s sending off.
The seesaw match saw the Tigers chasing the game from four minutes in, thanks to Shiva Boys’ determination and an error from goalkeeper Carlton Alfonso. The St Anthony’s custodian would have been better off trying to punch away the incoming ball, as he failed to gather it in and Rodriguez did not need a second invitation to knock home his team’s first.
The lead lasted 13 minutes before the Tigers were level, Allen bundling home a loose ball after Shivas’ defence seemed to forget their lines.
The Penal-based school were celebrating again on the hour when Ashford found the net, this time through a scrappy play that typified the conditions.
There was more drama when St Anthony’s won a penalty in the 75th after Shiva failed to blot out a series of corners and gave away a handball.
Rullow was sent off two minutes later to the dismay of fans and the team bench, but Shiva Boys could not take advantage and faced some late pressure of their own.
At the very least, Shiva Boys must have been level on chances with their opponents, and were upset not to be awarded a penalty of their own in the 85th that might have proved the winner.
The Tigers kept pushing and after scrambling to keep a robust Shiva outfit out of their penalty area, finally found the answer, a floating right side corner from Adriel Kerr that Allen timed perfectly, his downward header towards the far post eluding everyone and everything, except the net.
It was a hard way for Shiva Boys to lose, but they certainly provided entertainment on a gloomy afternoon.
Yesterday’s SSFL scores
Premier Division
St Anthony’s (Kwesi Allen 3), Shiva Boys 2 (Tequan Rodriguez, Kadeem Ashford)
Arima North 2, St Augustine 2 (Romario Villafana, Keshorn Marcellin)
Carapichaima East 2, San Juan North 1 (Jamille Britto)
St Benedict’s 3 (Levi Crawford, Matthew Joseph, Anthony Herbert), Naparima 0
Trinity East 1, St Mary’s 1 (Chinnua Bernard)
East Mucurapo 1 (Jair Edwards), Fatima 1 (Kyell Lancaster)
Chaguanas North 0, Presentation San F’do 3
Tobago Zone
Pentecostal L&L 3 (Jabari Francis, Bonnett Quinel, Shakeem Irvine), Roxborough Secondary 1 (Devon Waldron)
Goodwood 0, Signal Hill 5 (Akil Frank 2, Keiroy Murray, Nkosi Chance, Archer)
Speyside 5 (Brandon Benjamin 3, Kaleb Douglas, Malique Lewis), Scarborough 2
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Another player sees red for St Anthony’s
Kwesi Allen scored hat-trick and incredibly, a headed goal in virtually the last touch of the match, to keep St Anthony’s on top of the BGTT Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Premier Division standing, yesterday, when the “Tigers” clawed back to trump Shiva Boys Hindu College, 3-2, in Westmoorings.
St Anthony’s equalised twice, once in the first and second half to seal the win, thanks to the school’s leading goal scorer.
While the objective of a fifth straight win was achieved, head coach Nigel Grosvenor will have to endure a headache in selecting the squads for upcoming matches as he will be without the services of yet another player who received a red card and a number of others who have been summoned for national Under-17 duties.
Forward Andrew Rullow, who was brought in as a substitute to attack the final play of the match with the match locked at two-all, was immediately sent off when attacking a set-piece, according to Grosvenor for “pulling away his hand as he was held back by a Shiva Boys player.”
Grosvenor said the play never warranted a dismissal and it was a shame that his team was now on the receiving end of four red cards in three matches. St Anthony’s has, in fact, received at least one red card, in each of the matches it competed in this season. The only match which did not result in a dismissal was the fixture against St Benedict’s, which the “Tigers” won because of an unfit pitch.
“He got not once touch of the ball (as) he now came on. He (Rullow) was in tears,” said Grosvenor. ”The linesman, who was closer to the action told the referee that he should be cautioned at most.”
Along with Rullow, Grosvenor will also be without the services of Shakeem Patrick, Raheem Borde, Mattheus Granger and Shem Clauzel, who were called up for the Under-17 team scheduled to play in the CFU Championship finals in Haiti from September 26 to October 3.
In simultaneous matches, St Mary’s College remained in second spot despite behind held to a one-all draw by Trinity College, while St Benedict’s moved up the ranks with a comfortable 3-0 win over Naparima College. Rock bottom East Mucurapo finally gained a point following a 1-1 draw with North Zone rival Fatima College.
Results
Premier Division
St Anthony’s 3 (Kwesi Allen 3) v Shiva Boys HC 2 (Tequan Rodriguez, Kadeem Ashford)
Arima North 2 v St Augustine 2
Carapichaima East 2 (Jeremy Trim, Josiah Richards) v San Juan North 1 (Benjamin McIvor)
St Benedict’s 3 v Naparima College 0
Trinity College 1 v St Mary’s College 1
East Mucurapo 1 (Jair Edwards) v Fatima College 1 (Kyell Lancaster)
Presentation San F’do 3 (Quintel John 2nd, 87th, Levon Bass 18th pen) v Chaguanas North 0
Standings (Premier Division)
Teams Pld W D L F A Pts
St Anthony’s 5 5 0 0 17 4 15
St Mary’s 5 3 2 0 8 2 11
St Benedict’s 5 3 1 1 7 4 10
Naparima 5 3 0 2 6 7 9
St Augustine 5 2 2 1 9 8 8
Trinity East 5 2 2 1 8 8 8
Arima North 5 2 2 1 9 7 7
San Juan North 5 2 0 3 12 8 6
Shiva Boys 5 2 0 3 9 8 6
Presentation S/do 5 2 0 3 9 9 6
Fatima 5 1 2 2 5 11 5
Carapichaima East 5 1 2 2 3 11 5
East Mucurapo 5 0 1 4 3 9 1
Chaguanas North 5 0 1 4 1 10 1
Championship Division (Tobago)
P W D L F A Pts
Speyside Secondary 4 3 1 0 15 4 10
Signal Hill 4 2 2 0 10 3 8
Pentecostal L&L 4 1 3 0 4 2 6
Roxborough 3 1 0 2 3 8 3
Goodwood 3 0 2 1 0 5 2
Scarborough Secondary 3 0 1 2 4 9 1
Bishop’s High 3 0 1 2 0 5 1