Shiva move on, P'ville upset Naps

And Naparima College became yet another big casualty as they lost to Pleasantville Secondary 5-4 on kicks from the penalty mark yesterday in the late match of the "Manny Ramjohn" double header after a 2-2 regulation draw.

Shiva Boys struggled early on playing on a soggy pitch, but with ten men they took a 1-0 advantage to the dressing room at half-time, and added four more goals after the break.

D'sette Thomas opened Shiva's account just before the interval, while Shavon Diaz roared to a second-half hat-trick, and Shiva Boys captain Dwight Pope added the other from the penalty spot.

Resuming the match with confidence and a goal to the good, Diaz doubled the lead in the 56th despite Moruga pleas for off-side, collecting a long pass from the Shiva Boys half and chipping chunky goalkeeper Romano Steeling as he charged out of goal.

Moruga did have their chances and persisted with efforts to score, but the goals kept coming the other way. Joshua Joseph in the Moruga defence was perhaps harshly penalised for handball when he slipped in the 68th and Pope buried his penalty.

And Diaz put a cap on the encounter with items in the 70th and 80th, first stealing the ball from a tired Moruga defence, and then finishing off a long run down the left flank from substitute Levi Garcia, both shots coming from close range.

Moruga showed lots of spunk from kick-off, but in all honesty the match was beyond them, even after Shiva Boys were reduced to ten men, Nathaniel Garcia rightly being sent off for a crunching tackle on Aaron Julien, Moruga's best player yesterday.

In fact, in a half spent defending, Moruga had one chance at goal, a defensive error by Shiva Boys that left goalkeeper Sha-keem Darius and a defender battling for the ball, but the onrushing Donnel Charles could not steal it with the goal empty.

The teams had to endure a marshy "Manny Ramjohn" outfield in a clash that started in driving rain. It took them half hour to fall into any sort of rhythm, but play improved once the water started to recede.

Only after Garcia's (N) sending off the go-ahead goal came, with Julien off the field getting treatment after the tackle. Thomas it was in the 42nd minute, cleaning up from close range after Shaquille Williams was denied by the Moruga defence.

Shiva Boys' Judah Peters also missed three golden chances on either side of the goal before the break.

But the player deficit was even less a factor in the second half, as Shiva Boys hit their stride then the Moruga net a further four times to ensure their semi-final berth.

Moruga ended with ten men after Devon Molino was sent off late for his second bookable offence.

Their season is over, but Shiva Boys move on to face Pleasantville Secondary in the South Zone semi-finals.

Yesterday's InterCol Scores:

Shiva Boys 5 (D'sette Thomas 42nd; Shavon Diaz 56th, 70th, 80th; Dwight Pope [pen] 68th) vs Moruga 0

Naparima College 2 (Martieon Watson [pen] 28th; Akeem Humphrey 48th) vs Pleasantville 2 (Shivon Lesse 33rd; Jared London 67th)

Diaz nets Shiva hat-trick.
T&T Guardian Reports.

Forward Shavon Diaz whipped in a hat-trick to secure a semifinal spot for last year’s league champion Shiva Boys Secondary as it trounced Moruga Secondary 5-0 in the Coca-Cola Trinidad InterCol South Zone competition, yesterday.
 
The easy win for Shiva Boys, preceded yet another InterCol shock via a 5-4 penalty-kick victory for Pleasantville over Naparima, which followed a 2-2 stalemate in the second match of a double-header at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella.
 
The opening match saw much excitement, not least for the dismissal of Shiva’s topscorer Nathaniel Garcia, who was ejected in the first half after being shown a straight red card. Garcia was dismissed in the 42nd minute after lashing out at Moruga’s Aaron Julian.
 
However, instead of the dismissal putting Shiva on the backfoot, the South Zone runner-up followed up with the match’s first goal, a minute before the end of the first half complements of a strike from Judah Peters.
 
Leading 1-0 at the half, the ten-man Shiva Boys returned with more fire power, and swelled its lead in the 58th minute, with Diaz’s first effort. Ten  minutes later, Dwight Pope converted the team’s third goal, which led the way for Diaz’s hat-trick, which he sealed with his last two goals in the 71st and 81st minutes.
 
Two minutes later, Moruga went from down to out with the sending off of Devon Molino, following his reception of a second yellow card, which sealed another big loss for Moruga. Moruga finished the league campaign, which a miserable one point from 12 matches.
 
The second match was whistled off and went straight to penalties after the two teams, Pleasantville and Naparima, played to a 2-2 draw. Pleasantville, which ended the league campaign in second-to-last position, with 10 losses, two of which were inflicted by Naparima by a combined score of 9-0, came from behind twice to seal the spot kick victory.
 
Shivon Lesse, who scored Pleasantville’s first equaliser scored the all-important spot kick. Martieon Watson opened the scoring in the 28th minute after converting a penalty. Just five minutes later, Watson equalised for Pleasantville, as both teams went into half time locked at 1-1.
 
Naparima then regained the lead through an effort from Akeem Humphrey, which lasted 20 minutes. Jared London bagged Pleasantville’s second equaliser, which was enough to see both teams complete the 90 minutes, without another breakthrough.
 
The match ended with Pleasantville going down to 10 men after Anin Pereira was shown a straight red card for directing abusive language to an official. After 90 minutes, no additional time was added as both teams went straight to the penalty spot.
 
Lesse’s final spot kick gave Pleasantville the unexpected berth into the semifinal stage where it will meet the day’s first match winner, Shiva Boys, on Friday.

The other two semifinalists will be determined on Wednesday. South Zone league champion Presentation College of San Fernando will meet either Fyzabad or Mayaro of the Senior Division. St Benedicts and Princes Town will compete in the second semifinal match. The two matches will be played at 3 pm and 5 pm, at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella.
 
Today, action will continue in Tobago where the two spots are up for grabs for the final. Mason Hall, which dropped newly-promoted Bishop’s High, will meet Speyside Secondary, which finished second in the league, at 3 pm. The other match will feature league champion Scarborough Secondary versus Roxborough, which upset Signal Hill 2-1 in Tuesday’s other semifinal. The second match will kick off at 5 pm.
 
Yesterday’s Results
 
• Shiva Boys 5 (Judah Peters 44th, Sevon Diaz 58th, 71st, 81st, Dwight Pope 68th) v Moruga 0

• Pleasantville 2 (Shivon Lesse 33rd, Jared London 67th) v Naparima 2 (Martieon Watson 28th pen, Akeem Humphrey 48th)
- Pleasantville won 5-4 on penalty kicks.

Fixtures [Today]

Tobago- Semifinals

• Mason Hall v Speyside, Dwight Yorke Stadium, 3 pm
• Roxborough v Scarborough, Dwight Yorke Stadium, 5 pm
 
Monday

East-Quarterfinals

• Arima North v Valencia, Larry Gomes Stadium, 2 pm
• El Dorado East v Trinity East, Larry Gomes Stadium, 4 pm
 
North- Quarterfinals

• St Anthony’s v Malick, Hasely Crawford Stadium, 3 pm
• St Mary’s v QRC, Hasely Crawford Stadium, 5 pm