A close range effort from Keon “Greedy” Peters with ten minutes left in regulation time salvaged a point to keep Football Factory undefeated at the top of the Northern Football Association (NFA) Big-Four competition as they held St Francois to a 1-1 draw on Sunday.
At St Mary’s College Ground, Serpentine Road, home club Football Factory, led by former Pro League coach Terence Fenwick in its debut season, took a step further en route to the Champions of Champions competition, a qualifier for the National Super League, with the draw, albeit with a man down for almost the entire match.
It took five minutes before Football Factory was set on the back foot with the ejection of Oswin Williams, who, according to the head match official, was guilty of dissent. Williams originally received a yellow card, which was followed by a red after he repeatedly questioned the referee about his decision, despite being warned.
St Francois subsequently opened with a wonderful long-range effort from Marcus Roberts ten minutes into the second half. But, Football Factory, which did well on the attack despite a numerical disadvantage levelled the score in the 80th minute, when Peters, a former St Mary’s College attacker tapped in from close range after the St Francois goalkeeper parried the original shot from Reagan Gaulteau.
The sound of the final whistle confirmed Football Factory would remain undefeated in all three of its Big-Four matches, as with St Francois. Football Factory leads the pack with seven points, followed by St Francois, which sits on five with one win and two draws.
The day’s other result saw Queen’s Park Cricket Club (QPCC) take its first victory in the Big-Four, via a 3-1 triumph over winless Petit Valley. Eric Charles got Petit Valley’s only goal, while a double from Vladimir Suite and a lone item from Keegan Rattan secured QPCC’s win.
Action will continue today with the fourth round of matches, when Football Factory will be seeking to complete a second victory away to the struggling Petit Valley team at the Diego Martin North Recreation Ground at 3.30 pm, while St Francois and QPCC lock horns at St Francois Ground, at the same time.
BIG-FOUR STANDINGS
Teams Pld W D L F A Pts
F/Factory 3 2 1 0 4 2 7
St Francois 3 1 2 0 5 3 5
QPCC 3 1 1 1 4 3 4
Petit Valley 3 0 0 3 3 8 0