Tigers stumble against St Mary’s.
By Kern De Freitas (Express).
Presentation College San Fernando drew within one victory of retaining their BG T&T/First Citizens Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) South Zone title, yesterday, while in the North, St Anthony’s College seem to be losing grip on theirs.
Presentation made sure Mayaro paid for the long journey in their away match with a 6-0 shut-out of the hosts.
Angel Williams doubled up in the first half to give Presentation the early advantage with goals in the eighth and 27th minutes. Quintal John’s 32nd minute strike and an own goal before the half ensured a four-goal cushion for “Pres” at the break, before striker Shakiel Henry finished up with a pair in the second half (60th, 65th).
In contrast, St Anthony’s did not have a fun visit to their fellow title contenders St Mary’s College at Serpentine Road, St Clair, as they walked away 3-2 losers in the battle of the “Saints”.
The “Tigers” were playing catch-up from the seventh minute on, as Aaron Noel got St Mary’s on the board. The hosts’ joy lasted exactly 17 minutes, as midfielder Kadeem Corbin benefitted from some loose play from St Mary’s.
Defenders Miles Yorke and Cordell Hernandez collided in pursuit of the sphere, and the loose ball fell for Corbin to knock past the wrong-footed Christian Attong in the St Mary’s goal.
Two minutes after the restart, Rashad Hyacenth restored the St Mary’s advantage with a header.
The teams traded blows after that, but none strong enough to result in a goal, until St Mary’s notched an insurance item in the final minute of regulation time through Sebastian Cabral. He speared down the left flank past his marker, cut in, and put the ball into the far net.
That was all she wrote—well almost. After St Mary’s fans stormed the field in celebration, the desperate Tigers threw men forward and slapped home a loose ball from just inside the area in stoppage time.
St Mary’s are three points clear at the top of the North Zone standings.
In Central, Carapichaima East Secondary returned as champions with a default win over Couva West Secondary. And St Augustine are all but champions in the East with their 28 points.
Saints go five points clear.
T&T Guardian Reports.
In a dramatic finale for the history books, St Mary’s College endured a late surge to hold on to a 3-2 victory against arch rival St Anthony’s College to open a five-point lead in the North Zone, when action continued in the BGTT First Citizens Secondary Schools Football League, yesterday.
The fiery clash at St Mary’s College Ground, Serpentine Road, St Clair, which saw St Anthony’s finish with ten players, was a fitting response from St Mary’s, which lost the first leg 1-0 in Westmoorings, last month. Even with the dismissal of St Anthony’s custodian Perry Leigh O’Connor, St Anthony’s was inches away from salvaging a draw, but for the heroics of Christian Attong, who made a brilliant save in the dying moments of the match.
St Mary’s opened within ten minutes, through a well taken direct free kick from Aaron Noel, but St Anthony’s the better of the two teams in the first half responded roughly 20 minutes after, when Kadeem Corbin capitalised on a failed clearance from St Mary’s defence, to slot past Attong. The second half started with a more positive approach from St Mary’s.
It took ten minutes in, for the host team to find its second lead of the match, when Rashad Hyacinth connected with a pinpoint Noel cross to head home for 2-1. The match, nearing its end, saw a scramble from both teams seeking to hold onto the top of the table.
The Tigers pulled one back in the dying moments though Dwayne Calliste, but nearly conceded a fourth moments later, when O’Connor was sent off for a foul on Adrian Welch. The team was let off the hook as Hyacinth stepped up and smashed his penalty off the upright and out of play. Adding to the drama, the turnover saw a last gasp attempt at goal, but Kadeem Joseph’s attempt was denied by a great save from Attong.
The win for coach Jason Edwards’ team put it five points ahead of East Mucurapo, which was on a bye and six ahead of St Anthony’s, which still has a match in hand. Three matches remain in the North Zone. St Mary’s faces QRC away in the next round, then has a bye before it meets rock-bottom Malick.
Another dramatic encounter graced the North Zone yesterday with Fatima College, responding from a 2-0 half-time deficit, defeating Malick Secondary 3-2. In South, Presentation continued to cruise with a 6-0 win over Mayaro Secondary, while Naparima stayed five points behind with a 2-1 victory over St Benedict’s. And Shiva Boys, which won the Coca-Cola South Zone InterCol title for the first time in its history last year, was shunned 3-0 away to Princes Town.
In the East Zone, defending champion St Augustine Secondary secured its fourth straight win, in a 5-0 demolition of Valencia. With two matches remaining, St Augustine is on course to reclaiming the title, as its nearest challenger El Dorado West (three matches left) remains eight points back with a 2-1 win over San Juan North.
Central Zone’s Carapichaima won its eighth straight match without kicking a ball, as rock-bottom Couva West failed to appear at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva. Presentation College’s match with Tabaquite also failed to kick off, but due to a no-show of officials. The only match which was played, resulted in a 11-1 thrashing by Chaguanas North over Vishnu Boys.
Yesterday’s SSFL Results
North Zone
St Mary’s College 3 (Aaron Noel 7th, Rashad Hyacenth 47th, Sebastien Cabral 90th) vs St Anthony’s College 2 (Kadeem Corbin 24th, Dwain Caliste 90th)
Malick Sec 2 (Ryan Porter, Lester Durham) vs Fatima College 3 (Arvin Prescott, Dominic Jangoo 2)
QRC 1 vs Diego Martin North Sec 2 (Josh Toussaint 10th, Christopher Biggette 65th)
East Zone
St Augustine Sec 5 (Ricardo John 2, Aikim Andrews 1, Triston Hodge 1, Jordan Devenish 1) vs Valencia Sec 0
El Dorado West Sec 2 vs San Juan North 1 (Brent Sam pen)
Trinity College East 2 (Tyrik John, Taja Commissiong) vs El Dorado East Sec 0
Central Zone
Couva West Sec vs Carapichaima East Sec—Carapichaima East won by default
Vishnu Boys 1 (Narendra Joseph 11th) vs Chaguanas North Sec 11 (Jaeel Jeffrey 2nd, Joshua Garcia 4th, 8th, 55th 61st, Akeem Collins 36th, Jesse Frank 80th, David Maloney 37th, 40th, Mark Campbell 78th, 90th)
Presentation College v Tabaquite—Did Not Play
South Zone
Mayaro Sec 0 vs Presentation College San Fernando 6 (Angel Williams 2, Shackiel Henry 2, Quintal John, own goal)
St Benedict’s 1 (Shaquille Farrier) vs Naparima 2 (Martieon Watson 67th pen, 85th)
Princes Town West Sec 3 (Anderson Touissant 20th, 80th, Kadeem Joshua 30th) vs Shiva Boys 0
