Three different players found the target as Malvern handed Queen's Park its first loss in the T&T Hockey Board Mixed Veterans Division, 3-2 to keep its slim title hopes alive. The Parkites went into the match at the National Hockey Centre, Tacarigua, on Monday with a seven-point lead over Malvern and only needed a win to secure the first league title of the season. However, Malvern had other ideas and went ahead as early as the fifth minute through Rigel Gomes which it carried into the interval.
Peter Edwards made it 2-0 in the 54th minute and a minute later, former national coach David Francois looked to have sealed all three points for Malvern with his team's third item. The Parkites tried to mount a late fightback with goals from Gary Chin in the 65th and Raphael Govia on the stroke of full-time but it came too late. Despite the loss, Queen's Park still lead with 31 points and need a victory from one of its two remaining matches against Notre Dame and Corona Fatima to wrap up the title. But a defeat for the Parkites will leave the door open for Malvern, which must win its matches also to have a chance.
Results
Mixed Veterans Division
Monday
Malvern 3 (Rigel Gomes 5th, Peter Edwards 54th, David Francois 55th) vs QPCC 2 (Gary Chin 65th, Raphael Govia 70th).
Tuesday
Fatima 2 (Mark Nieves 22nd, Richard Downie 64th) vs Notre Dame 1 (Selwyn King 60th).
Wednesday
Defence Force 4 (Kirth Davis 2, Edison O'Brien, Bertram Duncan) vs Police 1 (Terrence Burris).
Fixtures
Today
Championship Women
Carib Magnolias vs Paragon, 7 pm.
Trinity Men
QPCC vs Notre Dame, 8.45 pm.
Standings
Mixed Veterans
Teams P W D L F A Pts
QPCC 12 10 1 1 38 19 31
Malvern 12 8 3 1 32 15 27
Fatima 12 5 4 3 32 27 19
Carib 11 5 3 4 18 22 17
N/Dame 12 4 4 4 33 20 16
D/Force 12 4 2 6 31 30 14
Police 12 1 1 10 14 31 5
Paragon 11 0 2 9 16 50 2
