Naparima College got two goals in the space of three minutes to play themselves back into contention for the title in the Premier Division of the Secondary Schools Football League when they defeated archrivals St Benedict’s College 2-0 at Lewis Street, San Fernando on Monday.
Coach Angus Eve urged his men on for a win after their recent spate of losses – Presentation College 1-0, and St Anthony’s 3-2 – but they, however, responded, though belatedly. Spurred on by a noisy rhythm section from the early moments of the game, the combination of an undulating surface, coupled with an overly cautious approach, robbed fans of the quality of football that was predicted from the start.
It took a rare chance at goal in the 31st minute for fans to leap from their seats. A tightly marked Sebastian James found himself at the end of a forward pass, for which he still managed to use his muscle to affect the turn; however, his low shot was pushed wide by goalkeeper Thane Devonish in the St Benedict’s goal.
Less than a minute later, St Benedict’s College, which entered the game in the leading position on 33 points, got its first chance at goal from the boot of captain Adam Pierre. During the run of play, the latter found room on top of the Naparima goal area, but his lifted shot didn’t trouble Mikhail Clement in the Naps goal.
The game seemed headed to the halftime interval with both goalkeepers unlikely to be interrupted, but Naps launched another attack from a buildup that ended at the feet of James; however, the stocky striker could not control the ball when it was sent to him in the 43rd minute.
The goalless result at the half was not what fans had expected; still, it left them with hopes, with the premiership title still a wide-open shot for all. Coach Eve’s words rejuvenated his charges, and it should have led to their opener in the 46th minute. Devonish’s tardy effort to dispose of the ball in his own box ran him into the lurking Riquelme Phillip, who took the ball from between his legs, but Phillip unbelievably missed the gaping goal from metres out, much to the surprise of his crowd.
The effort led to an increased desire for the opening goal, which later came in the 63rd minute. St Benedict’s defenders failed to get the ball clear on an attack, and Jabari Rodriguez fired it in on his second attempt at goal to hand Naparima the 1-0 lead.
Two minutes later, the St Benedict’s defence had hardly recovered when another blunder allowed Phillip to make amends for his earlier missed attempt by stabbing home the loose ball for a 2-0 advantage.
The goals boosted the confidence of the home team, but the La Romain Lions of St Benedict’s came close to reducing the score late in the game when Josiagh Ochoa went galloping onto a long ball inside the Naps goal area, only for his low shot to be pushed wide by Clement in the 81st minute.
The win moved Naps to 31 points, while St Benedict’s maintained the leadership position with 33 points.
At Westmooring, St Anthony’s College dropped three points in a 2-1 loss to Malick Secondary.
St Anthony’s drew first blood in the 30th minute from Jean-Marc Thomas, only for the visitors to level the score in the 43rd minute from Teung Burnley. Jahda Riley then scored in the 90+5 minute to pull off the rare win for his team.
RESULTS
Naps 2 (Jabari Rodriguez 63rd, Riquelme Phillips 65th) vs St Benedict’s 0
Malick Sec 2 (Teung Burnley 43rd, Jahda Riley 90+5) vs St Anthony’s 1 (Jean-Marc Thomas 30th)
SSFL Premiership – Round 11
P*W*D*L*GF*GA*GD*Pts.
1.*St. Benedict’s College*13*10*00*03*41*14*27*33
2.*Naparima College*13*10*01*02*39*07*32*31
3.*Presentation College*14*11*01*03*37*09*28*31
4.*Fatima College*14*09*02*03*46*22*24*29
5.*St. Anthony’s College*14*08*02*04*32*21*11*25
6.*Trinity College*12*07*00*05*13*29*-16*21
7.*Queen’s Royal College*14*05*04*05*23*23*00*19
8.*St. Mary’s College*13*05*03*05*32*21*11*18
9.*Arima North Secondary*13*04*04*05*26251*16
10.*Signal Hill Secondary*07*05*00*02*22*10*12*15
11.*Trinity College East*11*04*01*06*16*33*-17*13
12.*Malick Secondary*13*03*03*07*27*35*-08*12
13.*San Juan North Secondary*12*02*03*07*20*24*-04*09
14.*St. Augustine Secondary*13*02*03*08*14*43*-29*09
15.*Scarborough Secondary*12*01*04*07*12*33*-21*07
16.*Carapichaima East Secondary*14*00*00*14*07*68*-61*00
