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28
Thu, Mar

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Little-fancied Inter Dynamos were crowned champions of the Arima Football League last Friday evening when they captured the Big Four title at Arima Velodrome.

They rallied from a half-time deficit to emerge 2-1 victors against more experienced Malabar FC.

In the opening minutes, Inter Dynamos, kicking downfield, launched early attacks down the right flank where Mark Dandrade and Nicholas Armstrong featured.

However, in the eighth minute it was Malabar who took the lead through Dorian Daniel who collected a right-side cross on the volley and placed the ball over the head of Cecil Thomas in goal for Inter Dynamos.

Jesse Martinez then marshalled the Malabar defence which repelled the few attacks their opponents tried to muster. It was all Malabar at that stage as they continued to torment the Inter Dynamos defenders.

Kester Saunders had to be substituted midway through the half as he came off worse in a clash with an opposing player. He eventually had to be taken to the nearby health facility.

Malabar continued to dominate proceedings on the pitch but they failed to increase their lead despite the efforts of Daniel and Ricardo Cornwall, who were frequently making inroads into their opponents' penalty area. The supporters of Inter Dynamos were wondering whether their team had come to play.

In the second half Malabar appeared to continue where they left off. Immediately after the resumption Nathan Lewis received a long pass but failed to beat Thomas who was at his mercy. Substitute Keston Alexander soon followed his poor example, much to the disappointment of the Malabar crew.

They were to rue such glaring mistakes as in the 65th minute referee Gregory Guevara awarded a penalty to Inter Dynamos for a foul on Nicholas Armstrong who had eluded his marker in the area.

Captain Karfele Dyer calmly slotted home to level the score for his team.

The tables turned after that.

Inter Dynamos were rejuvenated and became much more competitive, although substitute Calvin Charles should have restored his team's lead in the 65th minute when he arrived to meet an accurate right-side cross provided by fellow-sub Wesley Elcock.

The match was decided when Inter Dynamos were awarded another free-kick on the left. The resulting kick, firmly struck, could only be parried by Durant into the path of Dion Caprietta who was running in from the right flank. He made no mistake with a neat placement, much to the joy of his Inter Dynamos teammates.

In the remaining eight minutes Malabar FC could not fashion a response to draw level and lived to regret their missed opportunties in the final.

The final whistle signalled the start of celebrations for those who reside on the Bypass.