There is a hint of déjà vu about today's Coca Cola InterCol quarter-final between unbeaten St Anthony's College and Tobago champions Signal Hill, which kicks off at 4 p.m. at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain.
But both teams will carry into the match a different mindset, each with the hope of conquering the other on the same ground where the Westmoorings "Tigers" prevailed 3-0 last month when they last met in the BG T&T Secondary Schools Football League "Big Five" semi-final.
Then, they were each facing an unknown team who had won convincingly in their previous match. What has changed since then is that they know each other.
Signal Hill remember only too well the pace and confidence of the Tigers, who were fully aware of the physical strength of the Tobago champs.
They have also come to the quarter-final in different circumstances, with Signal Hill coasting past Mason Hall Secondary 6-0, while St Anthony's had to fight for a 1-0 victory over St Mary's College.
That makes this latest encounter an exciting prospect, with a berth opposite newly-crowned East Zone champions Arima North Secondary the winners' prize.
Signal Hill
Xavier King, the Signal Hill manager turned acting principal, is happy with his team's latest win, but sees an uphill task in this their third match in five days. His players may be a little "leg-weary", he added, after their matches were re-scheduled due to Hurricane Tomas. His team also have to travel from the Sister Isle to play in Trinidad.
King says, however, they are in good spirits after doing the Tobago Zone League and InterCol double.
"Previously when we played (Mason Hall), we won by a 2-1 margin," King explained, "so I think we have improved a lot. But the team we're going to play is St Anthony who beat us...(Today's match) will be a little tight, but we are in a good mood because we won the double and we didn't win it for a while."
But Signal Hill have learned their lesson from their first encounter with St Anthony's. They were slow, King acknowledged, in getting to the ball and it will take time to remedy that situation. But in the short term, he hopes his team can settle into the match more quickly.
"The actual game itself, I think we have to guard against an early goal. I think once we guard against the early goal and settle in--if we prevent an early goal, try to get back behind the ball when we lose (it)."
Signal Hill, though, will not go into the match with negative thoughts.
"We played them before and we wondered what the opponent will be like. But we can match them. Two of the goals were penalties, our tackles came in a bit late, and we had some fair chances to score. I think we can be a force, try to get the boys' minds together for the game."
St Anthony's
When coach Nigel Grosvenor met with his squad yesterday, it was with one goal in mind–to get them to forget their victory over Signal Hill and concentrate on playing good football today.
In fact, Grosvenor's biggest worry is not his opponents, but his own charges' collective mindset.
"I was hoping that we didn't have to play them again because of that," Grosvenor told the Express yesterday. "Now they know us and they will come better prepared."
Grosvenor is full of respect for Signal Hill coach, former senior national head coach Bertille St Clair. To remedy his two major concerns, Grosvenor revealed he will be making changes to his starting squad.
The veteran St Anthony's coach revealed that it meant a lot to beat St Mary's last week and, now that their first national InterCol title in six years is within sight, he is hoping to finish strongly.
To do that, Grosvenor's team will continue the attacking approach that has served them well all season long.
"I'm sticking with it. To change at this point in time will be dangerous. It's not broken so we're not fixing it. We just have to clean up and improve on it."
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