nigel.simon@guardian.co.tt
Ian Brooks and Michael Pereira were both on target as St Mary's College came-from-behind to edge past Tranquillity Government Secondary 2-1 to lift the Over-55 knockout crown when the ninth Intercol Nostalgia Football Festival concluded at St Mary's College Ground, Serpentine Road, St Clair on Saturday, March 9.
Ian Mc Intyre fired Tranquillity into the lead in front a lively crowd, by Brooks drew the 'Saints" level before Pereira got the decisive item early in the second half of the 30-minutes contest on a very dry and hard surface.
Earlier in the semifinals, St Mary's slipped past Naparima College 1-0 thanks to a Colin Skeene strike while Mc Intyre and Mario Garcia got a goal each for Tranquillity to blank St Benedict's 2-0.
The "Saints" had earlier blanked St Francis (formerly Belmont Secondary), 2-0 and St Benedict's College won by default from Queen's Royal College in the quarterfinals.
Naparima College did not go home empty-handed in the Over-55 Division as they won all five of their matches in the league format to end with maximum 15 points, five more than runner-up Tranquillity Government Secondary.
St Benedict's ended third with eight points, followed by St Francis (formerly Belmont Secondary) and St Mary's College (four) while Queen's Royal College failed to show.
St Francis Secondary took home the 41-55 Division title ahead of Fatima College based on more goals scored, four to three after both teams ended with 14 points from their seven-team round-robin series.
St Mary's College, which featured Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith in its line-up was a close third with 13 points followed by St Augustine (seven), Naparima College (six), and Tranquillity Government Secondary, with six points as well. St Anthony's College was a no-show.
As was expected the 25-40 Division proved to be a very keenly contested age-group as well with the likes of Fatima College, Presentation College (San Fernando), Naparima College, St Anthony's College, St Francis Secondary, Tranquillity Government Secondary and St Mary's College registered.
In the end, Presentation College topped the table with 15 points, with one defeat against St Anthony's which had to settle for the third spot on goal difference, after both schools tallied 13 points while St Francis (nine) took the fourth spot ahead of Naparima (eight).
In the Under-25 Division, it came down to a straight forward clash between North Zone duo, Tranquillity Government Secondary and St Francis Secondary (formerly Belmont Boys Secondary) after St Anthony's College and St Mary's College, failed to show and their points awarded to the team's presents
And in a tense battle, it was the Victoria Avenue Street boys of Tranquillity who prevailed, 2-1 over St Francis to take the title with maximum nine points, three ahead of their opponents.
Selected Tournament Results
Girls Division Final
Pleasantville Secondary 3 vs Fyzabad Secondary 3 - Pleasantville won 1-0 on sudden-death penalty-kicks
Over-55 InterCol Knockout
Playoffs:
St Mary's 2 bt St Francis 0
St Benedict's 3 bt QRC 0 - by default
Semifinals
Tranquillity 2 (Ian Mc Intyre, Mario Garcia) bt St Benedict's 0
St Mary's 1 (Colin Skeene) vs Naparima 0
Final
St Mary's 2 (Ian Brooks, Michael Pereira) vs Tranquillity 1 (Ian Mc Intyre)