Penal boys beat Pres on penalties in replayed South InterCol final

Neither team could gain the ascendency in regulation time in rainy conditions in an empty stadium, with the match played behind closed doors.

The teams finished locked at 0-0, but Shiva Boys goalkeeper Kwesi Weston saved Anthony Charles' penalty kick, and Yohance Alexander booted his attempt wide after "Pres" started the shootout, while Shiva Boys were perfect from the spot.

It belatedly ended the South Zone battle and Presentation's season after controversy and uncertainty surrounded the event, following Monday's spectator attack on an assistant referee during the encounter that forced it to be abandoned with Presentation leading 2-1.

Shiva Boys will now meet St Anthony's College in a National InterCol semifinal, tomorrow, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain from 4.30 p.m., with the winners to meet St Augustine Secondary in the final.

Presentation might feel hard done after Monday's incident interrupted their charge for victory with ten minutes to go, but in the end, their chances did lie at their own feet.

Perhaps fittingly, the match had to be decided with kicks from the penalty mark after the teams cancelled each other out. Neither side could boast of dominance in the match as the momentum swung back and forth, with the rain making things more challenging.

The second half ended with neither team breaking the deadlock, and although chances were few, there certainly was quality.

One such chance could have handed Shiva Boys the opener after Shavon Diaz forced a save out of Presentation goalkeeper Kelvin Henry from an acute angle, but Anthony Charles in the Pres defence was there to help out.

Four minutes later Shiva Boys had a vociferous shout for penalty turned down in a sustained period of pressure and Diaz also had a tame shot at the Pres near post.

Around the hour mark Presentation took over with some crisp passing, but Civaughn Dimsoy was not clinical enough to take advantage of good positioning, and Shiva Boys did a good job of attending to Pres talisman, striker Shakiel Henry, to make sure he would not have an easy evening.

With consistent rain growing in strength as full time approached, Presentation had a powerful free kick late on from 35 metres force a great save out of Shiva Boys goalie Kwesi Weston.

With no crowd of supporters behind the teams, the stadium was uncharacteristically quiet. Still, the determination of the teams to overcome a difficult week was fully apparent, particularly in their defensive displays on a spongy, sluggish outfield drenched by rain.

With captain Kegan Ellis marshalling the defence, Presentation looked mostly solid, and if there was a mistake, Henry was there to clean up.

For Shiva Boys it was a similar scene; Weston was a lot more solid than his outing on Monday in the abandoned final, during which he was substituted at half-time. And Shiva Boys captain, Dwight Pope made sure there were no fatal slip-ups behind him.

In terms of attack, Presentation perhaps had the edge.

But the best chance in the first half came from Shiva's Nathaniel "Spanish" Garcia in the 34th, but his close range header off a Kyle Thomas feed that originated from a short corner kick, was not on target.

Garcia ended the half with a free-kick blasted into the wall from 20 metres to maintain the 0-0 scoreline.

That's how things stayed after 90 minutes, before Shiva Boys won at the spot to beat Presentation for the first time this season in four attempts.

Shiva stuns Presentation
...wins first South InterCol title.
T&T Guardian Reports.

Shiva Boys Hindu College created history yesterday as it lifted the Coca-Cola National South Zone InterCol title for the first time after defeating favourites Presentation College of San Fernando 4-2 on penalty kicks after a goalless encounter.
 
The match, which was staged at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, minus full support for either team, resulted in a spot in Monday’s National InterCol semifinal for Shiva against defending champion St Anthony’s College.
 
The match did not feature as much flair and excitement, which was on display at the original hosting of the final on Monday, which was abandoned after 80 minutes after a referee’s assistant Kevin Charles was attacked by an unruly spectator. Monday’s match was called off, at which point Presentation held a 2-1 lead.
 
Presentation almost did not participate in a replay of the South Zone final as it held the view that it should have been awarded a win, due to the fact that the supporter, who struck the official allegedly admitted to being a supporter of Shiva Boys.
 
The Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) subsequently awarded Shiva a place in the national semifinal. However, Presentation later consulted with several players, who unanimously agreed to replay the match.
 
Not only did the abandoned final stir controversy but so did the semifinal which Shiva was made to play twice. Shiva won its original match against Pleasantville Secondary 4-0, before the latter team appealed to the SSFL claiming that Shiva fielded an ineligible player, who received a red card in the previous match. In unusual circumstances, the SSFL called for a replay, which Shiva won 2-0.
 
There, however, were no grudges to be held in yesterday’s final. No red cards were produced and there were no incidents of foul play in the handful of spectators, officials and media, who were allowed access to the stadium.
 
Shiva Boys was second best to Presentation in the league, and by a wide ten-point margin. Presentation entered the match with a record of just one loss in all SSFL competitions, ironically from penalty kicks, when the “Lions” were dropped in the Big-Five final by Carapichaima East Secondary.
 
Yesterday, Presentation was out in full force with its best players, some of whom included Civaughn Dimsoy and Shackiel Henry, who arguably could have produced and finished more opportunities. Skipper Kegan Ellis, too, was guilty of missing a close-ranged opportunity in the final 15 minutes, despite his ever tireless efforts.
 
Shiva, too, despite creating a couple of chances particularly in the early stages of the second half, did not impress. The school’s top attacker and national Under-17 player Nathaniel Garcia, could have scored with ten minutes left in the first half had his header been on target. Ten minutes into the second half, Garcia again almost put his team up, had it not been for the heroics of Presentation custodian Kelvin Henry.
 
The match ended with Shiva edging Presentation in many ways apart from the score. Shiva followed up by converting all of its attempts from the penalty spot, while Presentation failed in its second and third attempt.

Shiva goalkeeper Quesi Weston scored the first, followed by successful shots from Anderson Cornwall and Dwight Pope. The final shot taken by Shaquille Jogie found the back of the net to the jubilation of the Shiva players.
 
Shiva meets St Anthony’s College, tomorrow, for a spot in the InterCol final, of which one place is already occupied by East Zone champion, St Augustine Secondary. The semifinal will be staged at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port-of-Spain, from 4 pm.