Naps win third Big Five title.
...get past Mucurapo 2-1.
By: Kern De Freitas (Express).Naparima College equalled the record for the most "national" wins in schools football when they beat Mucurapo Secondary Comprehensive 2-1 to lift their third BG T&T Secondary Schools Football League "Big Five" title at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella yesterday.
"Naps" joined a select club which already includes San Fernando Technical Institute, as well as Tobago's Signal Hill Senior Comprehensive, each with nine wins.
Naparima's unmatched six InterCol titles bolsters their record as a strong force in schools football.
Mucurapo needed their talisman and captain Kevin Molino to have a good match in order to foil Naparima's steady, time-tested approach. He was a few shades off his best, but still managed to give Naparima's defenders a workout.
He eventually scored with six minutes left in the match after a wonderful through pass from Mathew Waldron, but another goal was not on the cards. Neither was history for the Mucurapo Road side.
Naps got their win on first half goals from skipper Shahdon Winchester and Christopher Joseph, while Mucurapo scored late to make the game interesting, but not enough to change their fate.
Molino wove through players with ease at times and forced good saves out of Jugmohan. But if Mucurapo were to be rewarded for their persistent attacks, it should have been the drive from more than 25 metres out from substitute Allan Joseph that needed Jugmohan's best save to stay out of the net.
Time and time again Mucurapo plugged away with attempts at goal, fighting harder with every passing minute. But Naps' steely defence maintained their reputation for stepping up on big occasions and "Compre" were hard-pressed to find a way through.
Mucurapo's chance at their first Big Five title and their first national honour in 25 years lay limp when Winchester hit their net in just the fifth minute. He was fed through on the left by Joshua Bachan and, spotting Mucurapo goalkeeper Michael Duff idly off his line, chipped over him to the defence's dismay.
Before that, Mucurapo first threatened to open the scoring, with Mutar Taylor just failing to skate home the ball in the opening minute.
Naps handed in their first response in the fourth, with Bachan forcing Duff to parry the ball off the upright. One minute later, Naps were in the lead.
They doubled that lead in the 16th thanks to another smart move from Winchester, who collected in the box and held off a hesitant Mucurapo defender before teeing up for Joseph to blast home.
Mucurapo did provide some nervous moments for "Naps" at the other end, but what resembled big stage jitters crept in just before the finishing touch.
Despite that, both Molino and winger Terrence Clarke came close to pulling one before the break, denied only by diving saves from Naps custodian Nicholas Jugmohan.
At the break, Mucurapo went in needing some divine inspiration to boost their hopes of getting back into the match. Molino gave them a brief glimmer of hope, but it was not enough to give them the title they so desperately crave.
Earlier yesterday, Debe High School gained their first lien on the Secondary Schools Football League  Girls trophy when they edged St Augustine Secondary Comprehensive 1-0.
A timely 61st minute strike by second half substitute Afisha Clement, just nine minutes away from a showdown at the penalty spot, made the difference between the two evenly-matched teams.
"Debe! Must win! Debe! Must win!" chanted their supporters. Ten minutes later, the referee's whistle made the boast ring true.
Big Five - Naparima crowned Big Five 2008 Champions; Naparima 2 - 1 Mucurapo Schoolsoccernet.com - South Zone Champions, Naparima took all the plaudits today in the North vs South battle in the Big Five Final as they ran out 2-1 winners over North Zone Champions Mucurapo at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium.
Naparima were the marginally the better team in an entertaining fixture, although Mucurapo piled on the pressure in the dying stages of the game and pulled a goal back in the 87th minute to set up a nerve racking finish for ‘Naps’.
Naparima struck twice in the first 15 minutes of the game in a half where both teams created numerous chances.Naparima's Shahdon Winchester had a man-of-the-match performance and proved to be quite a handful for the Mucurapo defense.
Winchester opened the scoring shortly after the referee blew his whistle to start the game after controlling a ball superbly and then deftly lobbing the advancing Mucurapo goalkeeper Michael Duff.
Winchester was involved in Naparima's second goal as well when he laid the ball on a plate for his teammate, Joseph, who made no mistake as he buried the ball into the back of the net.
Both teams continued to search for more goals in the first half and the fans were truly entertained, but the first period would end with the 2-0 score-line.
Mucurapo came out strong immediately after the restart, but the Naparima defense withstood the onslaught.
The pace of the game settled for long periods of the second half with both teams battling in midfield.
Naparima had several chances to add to their tally on the counter attack, but were guilty of squandering a few gilt edged chances.
'Compre' would punish them for their lack of finishing and ensure they endured a nervous ending to the game when Kevin Molino put the ball into the back of the Naparima goal in the 87th minute.
Mucurapo continued to press till the end for the equalizer but could not break down the resolute Naparima defense for a second time. The blast of the final whistle sparked mad celebrations in the stands and on the pitch.
Congratulations to Naparima College, 2008 Big Five Champions.
Justin Henry.
