Pres hunts eighth straight win in South

The prolific Shaquille Henry  and his Presentation College of San Fernando will be confident of stretching its 100 per cent winning record in the South Zone when the BGTT/First Citizens Secondary Schools Football League resumes today with matches in all five zones. Led by Henry’s 11 goals in seven matches, Presentation leads the South zone with a maximum 21 points from seven matches and will face Princes Town in the feature match of a double-header at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella from 5 pm today hoping to repeat its 3-1 first round triumph which will extend its five point lead over defending champion Shiva Boys, which is on a bye today.

 

In the first match at Marabella from 3 pm, Naparima, third on 12 points and beaten 3-0 by Presentation on Wednesday, tackles St Benedict’s College, which is coming off a 4-0 spanking of Moruga. In the other match, Moruga, yet to earn a point, hosts second-from-bottom Pleasantville from 3.45 pm. While Presentation of San Fernando is the lone team in the league left with a 100 per cent winning record, national champions St Anthony’s College (North), Arima North (East), Carapichaima East (Central) and Scarborough (Tobago) will all be looking to maintain their stay atop their respective zonal table.

 

The “Westmoorings Tigers,” St Anthony’s, unbeaten in 26 matches dating back to the start of last season, leads the North with 17 points from seven matches after a narrow 4-3 win over Queen’s Royal College on Wednesday, and will be at home to cellar-placed Diego Martin North, which came away with a 0-0 draw in their first round encounter. East Mucurapo, three points behind in second spot will be hoping to keep the pressure on its rival with a win at home to Trinity College, which also came away with a 2-2  draw when both teams met in the first round at Moka, while in the other match, third and fourth placed teams, Fatima College (13 points) and St Mary’s College (11 pts) meet at Serpentine Road needing a win to stay in touch with the top two.

 

In the East Zone, Arima North spearheads the standings with 15 points, one ahead of San Juan North which is on a bye today and can stretch its cushion at the top with a repeat of its 6-0 first round triumph over Toco at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar from 3.45 pm. The “Dial Dynamos” will be brimming with confidence following a 3-1 whipping of long-time rivals St Augustine while Toco was on a bye. Defending zonal champions, El Dorado East, beaten 4-0 by San Juan North on Wednesday, will be eager to get back to winning ways away to neighbours El Dorado West, which it whipped 4-2 in the first round, while St Augustine is at home to Trinity East.

 

Central Zone title-holders and front runners, Carapichaima East, led by the league’s leading scorer Shaquille Holder (15 goals), should have little trouble in maintaining its two-point lead when it travels to second-from-bottom Tabaquite while second-placed Chaguanas North (ten points) hosts Presentation College of Chaguanas at Homeland Gardens, and Gasparillo and Couva West play at Guaracara Park, Point-a-Pierre. Over in Tobago, Scarborough (seven points) enjoys a two-point advantage over Speyside at the top. However, the latter will not be in action today, leaving the win for the table-toppers to extend its lead. Today, Scarborough, buoyed by its 2-0 shut-out of former champions Signal Hill on Wednesday entertains Mason Hall at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet, while Signal Hill seeks better fortunes at home to Roxborough.