St George's College got a goal from each of three players in an opening match of the 2004 season in the East Zone of the British Gas Secondary Schools Football League to score an unimpressive 3-2 win over Barataria Senior Comprehensive.
In the evening’s feature match, two-time defending zonal champion team Arima Senior Comprehensive played to a 2-2 draw with main rival team St Augustine Senior Comprehensive.
National Under-17 player Shastri Spencer scored both goals for the “Green Machine” while Lorenzo King, replied with a double of his own for the “Dial Dynamos” of Arima.
Michael De Freitas, team captain Marlon White and Marlon St Louis got the goals for St George’s in a scrappy affair at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar, Arima, yesterday.
De Freitas opened the scoring with his second attempt, three minutes before half-time when he squeezed a right-footed shot past Barataria goalkeeper Anil Joseph at the near post.
Joseph had done well to parry the ball from De Freitas’ first effort at goal after a break-away, but the lively forward was first to the rebound and beat the retreating goalkeeper with a clever shot.
Three minutes into the second-half, Barataria got a gift goal to equalise when an attempted centre from the right side by Kendall Daniel—intended for the onrushing Jonathan Romain—was turned into his own goal clumsily by defender Jemel Lewis.
White, one of a the few players who seemed up to the task, restored his team’s lead with a right-footed shot which sent the ball trickling under the arms of Joseph, at the first post and into the net.
The see-saw affair again featured a tied score five minutes later, through a strike by Dennis Williams.
With the St George’s defence at sea, John Belgrave sliced a pass between two defenders for Williams to round goalkeeper Dwain Baird and score with a left-footed flick into an open net.
But with minutes ticking away, St George’s got the winner through some persistent play by substitute Chike Williams.
Williams, a second-half replacement for Michael Jordan, robbed Barataria defenders Theo Lewis and Roger Munroe of the ball on the far right. Then, with little space to manoeuvre on near the line, he weaved his way around his markers before rolling the ball into the path of St Louis, who wasted little time in blasting a right -footer into the roof of the net, over the head of a helpless Joseph, to clinch victory for his team.
British Gas Secondary Schools Football League Results.
St Benedict's 3 (Akeil Belfon 2, Robert O'Brien) v Naparima 3 (Javed Mohammed, Deverne Wallace, Lyndon Pompey).
Javed Mohammed was out-standing for Naps, created harvoc on the left-side. Akeil Belfon was good for Benedicts.
Benedicts have a good side this year, with Jeremy Tenia and defenders Marvin Adama and Mario Whiteman, and good potential in midfield with Stephen DeLas, national under-17 player Silas Spann and Akil Belfon.
Naps, they will have to defend their League and Intercol titles without prolific strikers Brenton DeLeon, Aaron Downing and reliable defender Ancil Farrier, who is on scholarship in the United States. But still have strikers Ateba Forde and Kern Robinson, with captain Kezi Lara and Javed Mohammed in midfield, and defenders Lyndon Pompey and Kevin De Verteuil, along with Cerion Millette in goal.