A dogged display, coupled with a bit of luck, earned Fatima College a 1-0 victory over a battling St Anthony’s College in the Sport Company of T&T (SporTT) Boys Premiership Division of the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) at Westmoorings on Saturday (Octiber 10) .
The result summed up the Tigers’ fate for the early part of the League, but improved Fatima’s position on the table. Meanwhile, St Mary's College has now taken the lead following a 2-2 tie with Presentation College, San Fernando at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella.
Previous leader Signal Hill Secondary was scheduled to face Trinity College Moka in Maraval, but the referee called off the match due to an improperly marked pitch.
Trinity coach Marlon Minguel explained yesterday that his field was marked in the morning ahead of the match, but heavy rains washed away the markings. Although Trinity College is way down the bottom half of the standings, the Tobagonians would have retained top position had they played and even drawn with their counterparts.
At Westmoorings, though, soggy conditions made play troublesome for both teams. However, the Tigers of St Anthony’s, without a victory in six matches, desperately needed to win against a tough Fatima outfit which entered the game in fifth position.
The Mucurapo Road lads had regular visits to the Tigers’ goal area, as the Tigers found it tough to get past the towering Fatima defensive structure, which was reinforced by high-playing goalkeeper Jadon Pollard, whose positioning allowed him to function as a sweeper.
The Tigers’ first attempt at goal came from a build-up fashioned by Giovanni Bartholomew in the centre of the park; however, Bartholomew’s shot failed to trouble Pollard in the 22nd minute.
A minute later, the visitors were gifted the lead, generously, by St Anthony’s custodian Necose Moore. Midfielder Kevin Joseph hurdled Djaun Joseph’s tackle on the right flank, only to see his cross into the St Anthony’s penalty area palmed into the goal by the goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead.
Despite the opener, though, the home team was anything but daunted by the challenge facing them. As their sparse crowd cheered them on, they continued to be relentless in their effort, but found the high-playing Pollard foiling most of their build-ups.
Fatima then mounted an attack down the left side through Jeremai Nanton, whose cross to an unmarked Lucas Shaw was put agonisingly wide in the 40th minute.
The teams were ushered off the field for the half-time interval, and when they returned, the Tigers looked hungrier.
In the 55th minute, Christian Renne used his speed to get past Raegan Rowe on the left side, only to send his attempt low into the side netting from an acute angle.
Still, the Tigers fought valiantly, desperate to make up for losses in the past. Ten minutes later, they were in the hunt again for the equaliser. This time, Jaimarley John was the target from a patient build-up around Fatima's goal area. However, John’s shot in a crowd of Fatima defenders was deflected wide in the 65th minute.
John continued to torment the Fatima defenders, but lady luck did not follow him and his team, which entered the game at the very bottom of the standings. Still, John led a dogged attack in the 71st minute, as he eased his way past three players in the centre of the park but could not control his shot, which sailed aimlessly over the crossbar.
Saturday's results
St Benedict’s 7 (Kanye Glasgow 3rd, 36th, 45th, 51st, 88th, Orande Parris 69th, Maalik Charles 90+4) vs St Augustine 0
QRC 4 (Nyrell Roberts 34th, 45th, Jahseem Pierre 42nd, Gervais Frederick 80th pen) vs Trinity East 0
Naparima 2 ( Javon Denoon (own goal) 28th, Jabari Rodriguez 71st) vs Arima North 0
Presentation 2 (Aaron Clement 46th, Mikhai Nedd 83rd) vs St Mary's College 2 (Jaylon Roberts 41st, Jaedon Thomas 64th)
Mucurapo West 3 (Marlon Jordan 41st pen, 62nd pen, Caleb Jacob 57th) vs Malick 5 (Keisean Spence 8th, Israel Outar 9th, Jaquan Phillip 36th, Renaldo Punnette 45+2, Jahda Riley 88th)
Hillview College 1 (Khalid Jones 60th) vs Speyside High School 3 (Justin Bernard 28th, 63rd, 66th)
Fatima College 1 (Necose Moore (own goal 23rd) vs St Anthony’s 0
Standings
Teams P W D L GF GA GD Pts
St Mary’s College*8*5*3*0*20*7*13*18
Signal Hill Sec*7*6*0*1*17*7*10*18
St Benedict’s College*8*5*2*1*23*5*18*17
Fatima College*8*4*3*1*23*13*10*15
Arima North Sec*8*5*0*3*20*16*4*15
Naparima*7*4*1*2*20*7*13*13
Speyside Sec*9*4*1*4*17*25*-8*13
Hillview College*7*3*2*2*21*15*6*11
Presentation College*7*3*2*2*16*10*6*11
Malick Sec*7*3*0*4*18*18*0*9
Queen’s Royal College*8*2*3*3*9*10*-1*9
St Augustine Sec*7*2*1*4*14*25*-11*7
Trinity College Moka*7*2*1*4*11*24*-13*7
San Juan North*7*2*0*5*11*16*-5*6
Mucurapo West Sec*8*1*2*5*10*21*-11*5
Trinity College East*8*1*1*6*10*29*-19*4
St Anthony’s College*7*0*2*5*7*19*-12*2
