Presentation College, San Fernando, faces the proverbial two-edged sword today in the Premiership Division of the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL).
The southerners, the only team capable of catching front runners Naparima College, will have to beat Queen's Royal College (QRC) at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella, in Wednesday's key contest of revised match programme.
But on Saturday 'Pres' as the southerners are commonly known, will need QRC to beat ist south rivals Naparima, while Presentation will have to beat St Anthony's College, for the chance to win the title.
Speaking to Guardian Media Sports on Wednesday Shawn Cooper, the Presentation coach, said that winning the title is totally out of his team hands at this point.
"We blew it, we blew it. We had it in our hands up to Saturday against Malick, but we threw away a penalty in added-on time to draw 1-1. We now have a very slim chance of winning the title, but we will have to depend on QRC. As it is, we can only hope to achieve what we can, and that is to get a maximum of three points from our matches, and then hope for the best," said Cooper.
He added, "The guys felt that San Juan would have been the team to hold off Naparima, but that did not happen, and we did not live up to our responsibility either against Malick."
Presentation now has 27 points in the third position on the standings, while Naparima has 33 points.
But with QRC facing disciplinary concerns ahead of today's encounter, Presentation may well fancy its chances at the Marabella venue.
QRC coach Nigel Grovesnor said some five or more of his senior players failed to attend a crucial training session on Monday morning and could face the ultimate punishment today. "We had a meeting to talk about preparation ahead of the Coca Cola Inter Col last week and that session was the start. However, senior players did not show up, and there were not call or text message to say that they were not coming, so I am not going to tolerate any indiscipline like that. A stance has to be taken," Grovesnor explained.
The former St Anthony's coach said his team will be under no pressure for the match, and will not be handing Pres anything on a platter. "No, no, we are not going to give away any points. We are coming to win the match and finish higher up the standings. We will just be relaxed and sometimes a relaxed team can play much better," Grovesnor noted.
The Royalians are seventh on the table and can move to fifth with a victory, but only depending on the outcome of the Trinity East, Carapichaima clash at Trinity East Ground in Arouca. All matches today begin at 3:30 pm.
TODAY'S MATCHES
East Mucurapo vs Speyside, Fatima Grd, Mucurapo Road
Pleasantville vs St Augustine, Yolande Pompey Grd, Pleasantville
St Mary's vs Trinity Moka, St Mary's Ground, St Clair
Presentation vs QRC, Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella
Trinity East vs Carapichaima East, Trinity East
Saturday's matches
QRC vs Naparima, QRC Grd, St Clair
St Anthony's vs Presentation, Westmoorings
St Benedict's vs San Juan North, Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella
LATEST TEAM STANDING
SCHOOLS*P*W*L*D*GF*GA*GD*PTS
1*Naparima*13*10*0*3*31*10*+21*33
2*St. Anthony’s*13*9*2*2*41*17*+24*29
3*Presentation San F'do*12*8*1*3*27*7*+20*27
4*East Mucurapo*13*8*2*3*30*13*+17*27
5*Carapichaima East*13*6*3*4*24*20*+4*22
6*San Juan North*13*6*5*2*30*11*+19*20
7*QRC*12*6*4*1*22*26*-4*19
8*St. Benedict’s*13*5*7*1*15*21*-6*16
9*Trinity East*13*4*6*3*15*19*-4*15
10*St. Augustine*13*3*5*5*31*27*+4*14
11*Pleasantville*13*4*7*2*15*18*-3*14
12*Speyside*13*4*7*2*19*37*-18*14
13* Malick*14*4*8*2*20*27*-7*13
14*Trinity Moka*13*2*10*1*16*42*-26*7
15*St. Mary’s*13*1*11*1*5*44*-39*4