Naparima College left nothing to chance yesterday when the team captured the inaugural BGTT Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Premier Division title with an emphatic 6-0 demolition of Shiva Boys Hindu College in the final round of league matches at home.
Led by former national senior footballer, Angus Eve, Naparima College secured the title thanks to the efforts of its own host of national Under-20 players.
Playing simultaneously, former league leader St Anthony's College was hoping for Shiva Boys to create a massive upset as the Westmoorings team entered its fixture against East Mucurapo trailing by a sole point on the final day of the season. The tamed "Tigers", however, could only muster a point in a 1-1 draw against the already relegated team.
On the opposite end of the island, "Naps", started slowly by its standard, entering the half time break with a 1-0 lead thanks to a goal on the half-hour mark from top scorer Jabari Mitchell.
But then the second half began and closed in blistering pace, starting with a goal less than a minute in from Nicholas Dillon. Mitchell and Dillon's national U-20 teammate, Martieon Watson made it 3-0 and 5-0 after scoring in the 62nd and 77th minutes, respectively, while Jarred Dass scored his first goal of the campaign in between, 20 minutes from time. Dass then scored his second and "Naps" final goal in the 80th minute.
It was the ideal finale of the first Premier Division contest for Naparima, which trailed traditional schools' football powerhouse St Anthony's for more than half of the season. Ironically, the tables drastically turned for both teams when Naparima secured a massive 5-1 win over the same "Tigers" in Westmoorings late last month. Incidentally the same three national players were on target in that match.
Meanwhile, San Juan North claimed a narrow 2-1 win over St Augustine with another national U-20 player, Josiah Trimmingham scoring the insurance item ten minutes from time to secure third spot and the last available place for a Premier Division team in the Big-Four national competition. The Big Four will kick off on October 25.
The fourth team scheduled to play in the Big-Four, from Tobago, which opted out of this year's Premier Division, may be determined on Saturday when Speyside meets Goodwood. Speyside's closest competitor, Signal Hill, needed a win to have a realistic chance of catching the leader, but instead suffered a 3-0 loss against Roxborough.
Results
Premier Division
Naparima College 6 (Jabari Mitchell 31st, Nicholas Dillon 46th, Martieon Watson 62nd, 77th, Jarred Dass 71st, 80th) vs Shiva Boys 0
St Anthony's 1 vs East Mucurapo 1
Presentation College S/do 1 (Levon Bass 21st) v St Benedict's 1 (Kadeem Gittens 46th)
Fatima 5 vs Carapichaima East 2
St Mary's 3 vs Arima North 1
San Juan North 2 (own goal 38th, Josiah Trimmingham 80th) vs St Augustine 1 (Moses Jaikaran 85th)
Trinity East 2 (Lloyd Pierre, Taje Commissiong) vs Chaguanas North 2
Championship Tobago
Speyside - Bye
Pentecostal L&L 2 vs Bishop's High 1
Roxborough 3 vs Signal Hill 0
Goodwood 2 vs Scarborough 1
Scores
Teams Pld W D L F A Pts
Naparima 13 10 1 2 40 12 31
St Anthony'2 13 9 1 3 37 18 28
San Juan North 13 9 1 3 30 14 28
St Benedict's 13 6 5 2 17 9 23
Trinity East 13 6 5 2 25 19 23
Shiva Boys 13 7 0 6 24 24 21
St Mary's 13 5 4 4 16 14 18
St Augustine 13 4 6 3 19 19 18
Fatima 13 4 3 6 20 28 15
Presentation 13 4 1 8 16 16 13
Carapichaima East 13 3 3 7 10 25 12
Chaguanas North 13 2 4 7 8 31 10
Arima North 13 2 1 10 14 26 10
East Mucurapo 13 2 9 2 9 26 8