Chaguanas North Secondary yesterday captured its first ever piece of major silverware after defeating Carapichaima East Secondary 4-3 on penalty kicks, in the Coca-Cola Central InterCol, at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva.
It was a case of retribution for the Chaguanas school, which never managed to lift the league or InterCol titles, while the much more celebrated Carapichaima had its target of sealing all titles this season end abruptly.
Carapichaima won the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Central Zone title earlier this season after seeing its 2-1 loss to Chagaunas North reversed by the league’s disciplinary committee, due to the latter team fielding an ineligible player.
And, despite appeals from Chaguanas North which indicated they were given permission to field the said player, the decision by the disciplinary team was never overturned. However, yesterday, Chaguanas North effectively exacted revenge from the penalty spot after both teams were locked at 1-1.
Chaguanas attacker David Maloney opened in the 48th minute but the lead lasted all of 25 minutes, before Caps’ leading scorer Shaquille Holder grabbed the all-important equaliser.
The spot-kick win put the Central Zone league runner-up into the National InterCol semifinal, where they meet the winner of Friday’s clash between inaugural Tobago winner Speyside Secondary and East Zone’s St Augustine.
Today, what was originally scheduled to be the final of the South Zone InterCol competition between Presentation College of San Fernando and Shiva Boys, will instead be a replay of a semifinal between Shiva and Pleasantville Secondary, which reached to the league’s disciplinary committee subsequent to an appeal from the latter team.
The two teams met in the first semifinal match last Friday, with Shiva ending the match 4-0 victors. However, following the match, Pleasantville appealed to the committee advising that a Shiva Boys player who received a red card in his school’s 5-0 win over Moruga in the quarterfinal stage was not eligible to play in the semifinal.
Shiva, however, claimed that they were instructed that the player was in fact eligible to play from a member of the league’s committee, which ultimately led to the decision that the match should be replayed rather than the win be awarded to Pleasantville.
The winner of today’s semifinal will meet runaway league champion and Big-Four finalist Presentation College in the final sometime next week.
Tomorrow, reigning InterCol champion St Anthony’s College will face already relegated and surprise finalist Trinity College in the North Zone title match, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port-of-Spain, at 4 pm.
Finally, on Friday, the National InterCol quarterfinal will kick off when first ever Tobago champion Speyside Secondary faces the more recognizable “Green Machine” of St Augustine Secondary.
Chaguanas new Central Intercol champs.
T&T Newsday Reports.
Chaguanas are the new Coca Cola Intercol Central Zonal champions, after they dethroned Carapichaima 4-3, via kicks from the penalty spot, in yesterday’s decider at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva.
The scores were locked at 1-1 at the end of regulation time, with David Maloney putting Chaguanas in front after 49 minutes before Shaquille Holder equalised in the 74th.
But Chaguanas were more clinical with their spot-kicks as they earned their first major title in the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL).
Yesterday’s result was a measure of revenge for the Chaguanas camp, who felt aggrieved earlier this season when, due to a disciplinary ruling by the League, Carapichaima were awarded crucial points which meant they successfully defended their SSFL Championship Division Central Zone crown, and hence proceeded to claim the Big Five title.
On Monday, St Augustine edged 2011 winners Arima 1-0 for the East Zonal title while, in the sister isle, Speyside copped the Tobago Zonal trophy by virtue of a 2-1 victory over Scarborough at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet.
Chaguanas, St Augustine and Speyside have progressed to the National Intercol competition, which will feature the five Zonal Intercol winners, starting on Friday. Today the spotlight will be at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, with Presentation San Fernando meeting Shiva Boys’ for the South crown.
In the semis, Presentation eliminated St Benedict’s 3-2 while Shiva Boys’ disposed of Pleasantville 4-0.
During the Championship Division, Presentation earned 1-0 victories over Shiva on September 26 and October 20.
The last Zonal Final will take place tomorrow featuring St Augustine and Diego Martin, for the North title.
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