Petit Bourg Youths and South Eastern Connection scored contrasting wins on Monday evening to move into the next round of the Eddie Hart Football League (EHFL) knockout (KO) competition.
Playing at the Eddie Hart Savannah (EHS) in Tacarigua, Petit Bourg turned back 1st T&T Regiment 3-0 in the first game of a double-header, while South Eastern Connection needed extra-time to prevail 4-3 over La Horquetta FC in a keenly-contested encounter.
South Eastern Connection, who took care of FC Barca 3-2 in the first round on Saturday night, took a 3-0 lead into the half-time break and looked like they were cruising to a comfortable win.
But with less than 15 minutes to go, La Horquetta, who took care of former champions Santos FC in their previous game, never gave up and hit back with three late items to extend the exciting affair a further 20 minutes.
South Eastern netted early in the first period of extra-time to restore their advantage which they never surrendered, despite a gallant and spirited effort from La Horquetta, who should feel proud of their effort on Monday night and, by extension, the entire campaign.
In the evening's opener, "Big Eight" qualifiers Petit Bourg had it their own way in their meeting with the soldiers, who could have suffered a larger margin of defeat had it not been for poor finishing by the winners.
Forward Holson Lovelace started the scoring for the boys in red and black, before Nathan Patterson and Keornn John added to the tally in the second period to push Petit Bourg into the next phase. Petit Bourg had won over Dingle Boys 3-2 in their first KO outing.
Last week, University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) kicked out league champions MAASH International from the knockout tournament with an impressive 3-2 triumph after trailing 2-0 early in the opening half.
Stevon Stoute netted both goals for MAASH, pushing his tally for the season to 14.
And last Thursday, Spain Slappers edged Bon Air FC 1-0 to advance to the next stage.
In other games played last week, Parliament FC stopped Small Stars 4-2 on Wednesday; Trincity Nationals were easy 3-1 winners over Lopinot United on Tuesday; and Pacemakers hammered ES Madrid 6-0 on Thursday.
Trincity and Pacemakers played on Tuesday night, Slappers tackled Paradise FC yesterday and Parliament will meet UTT tomorrow.