Royalians march past CIC.
By: Nicholas Clarke (T&T Guardian).
After 90 goalless minutes of crushing tension, Queen’s Royal College beat St Mary’s in a one-sided penalty shootout 3-0, to win the final of the Secondary Schools Football League’s 2009 Coca Cola North Zone Intercol final at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo yesterday.
Fans were treated to a series of missed chances as both teams attempted to take control of the game. Christian Briggs had a chance to put CIC ahead in the 6th minute but shot straight at Royalians custodian Kareem Joseph. A minute later, QRC’s Akil Clarke’s short cross was just out of the reach of Qualanson Archibald, who would almost certainly have scored had he gotten a boot on it.
Sloppy defending almost cost QRC in the 13th minute but Joseph showed composure to deal with a threat from Renaldo Garcia and steal the ball in the box. The momentum kept changing throughout the first half and when QRC’s midfielder Duane Muckette wowed the crowd with some stunning ball control in the 26th minute, it was followed by a St Mary’s counter attack but Dillon Kirton lobbed over bar.
The goalless first half promised much and almost immediately on resumption, Clarke’s grounded shot was stopped by CIC keeper, Rheem Belgrave. At the opposite end, CIC got the ball into the back of the net only to have their celebrations cut short as the goal was ruled offside.
The tension continued to build as corners, free kicks and through passes moved from side to side and in the 59th minute, QRC’s Akil Morris just shot wide after being set free. The excitement continued well into the final moments with neither team able to get the ball into the net.
And when the referee finally ended the regulation period, another tense shootout was anticipated. However, this did not prove to be the case as the Royalians converted three of their four shots, while the Saints went marching home without a conversion. Goalkeeper Joseph turned into the night’s hero, blocking two of the CIC shots. Today action shifts to the east, where St Augustine will take on El Dorado at the Larry Gomes Stadium, from 5 p.m.
QRC take North InterCol title.
By: Kern De Freitas (T&T Express).
Debe High triumph in Trinidad girls' final.
Queen’s Royal College ended a six year drought in North Zone InterCol, stopping St Mary’s College 3-0 on kicks at the penalty mark after an entertaining 90 minutes of regulation time ended goalless at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
The competitive nature of the Coca Cola InterCol has seen several matches decided by spot-kicks thus far, and two evenly matched arch-rivals were no different. St Mary’s College’s nerves had been exposed, though, by a few close shaves in the second half, and it showed when they missed each of their efforts at the penalty mark.
Before the long-time foes clashed, though, Debe High School girls retained their BG T&T Trinidad InterCol title, trotting comfortably to a 3-0 win over Providence Girls High School.
Patrice Vincent opened Debe’s account in the 25th minute, before captain Moriah Shade doubled their lead in the 37th, and striker Elizabeth Ng Wai capped things off in the 73rd, causing Debe fans to erupt in glee.
QRC had to work harder for their victory, but thumped home three of their four kicks for what turned out to be an easy shootout victory for the ’Royalians’.
The turnout was reminiscent of InterCol of years gone by. A sizeable, enthusiastic crowd flooded the covered stands of the Stadium, prompting the announcer to request patrons to clear the aisles.
The old, the young and the in-between turned out for the Old Firm encounter, with a deeply entrenched rivalry that extends way back to the original College’s League.
Inside the first 20 minutes, St Mary’s had two good chances from free kicks snapped up by QRC goalkeeper Kareem Joseph. The ’Royalians’ also pushed forward in search of the early advantage, but both teams, given the expectations and the prize at stake, neglected to take any chances and showed each other full respect.
In the stands, ’boom, boom, boom!’ and ’ting, ting, ting!’ the rhythm sections sounded, almost akin to the see-saw battle going on in midfield
The best chance for St Mary’s came in the first half off the boot of Dillon Kirton from the left, but his shot was too good for the far corner.
QRC’s Makesi Lewis has another fabulous chance, forcing a good flying save out of St Mary’s keeper Belgrave to keep the scores level at 0-0 at the half.
Both teams emerged resolute after the interval, perhaps with greater emphasis on keeping a clean sheet rather than scoring the winner. They attacked cautiously, and held their numbers back to defend. Still, Chad Appoo hit the net in the 48th, only to be ruled offside, and Joseph later needed a good save to keep Renaldo Garcia out.
Yesterday’s InterCol Scores:
Boys
QRC 0 v St Mary’s 0
QRC won 3-0 on penalties.
Girls
Debe 3 (Patrice Vincent 25th, Mariah Shade 37th, Elizabeth Ng Wai 73rd) v Providence 0
Today’s InterCol fixtures:
Central Zone
Carapichaima Secondary vs Tabaquite Secondary, 4 p.m., Ato Boldon Stadium
Tobago Zone
Mason Hall Secondary vs Scarborough Secondary, 4 p.m., Dwight Yorke Stadium
