Queen's Royal College (QRC) conceded four goals in the space of 20 minutes and surrendered what was seen as three certain points against Speyside High School in their Premiership Division clash of the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) in Speyside on Monday.
Coach Nigel Grovesnor said afterwards his players were completely drained after a difficult encounter on Saturday in which they won 4-3 over Trinity Moka away. "A day later we were on a boat en route to the sister-isle of Tobago for the encounter against Speyside. And to be honest we were well in control of the match in the first half and most of the second half when exhaustion took place," Grovesnor explained yesterday.
He added, "The guys really could not push themselves further, so I commend them for the effort."
The Royalians got a double strike from influential midfielder Nathaniel James and an own goal to take them 3-0 ahead. They maintained that position until midway in the second half when a gutsy display by Speyside saw them scoring goals from Jelani James (75th), Deleon Beckles (83rd), Nicholas Sanchez (85th) and Adriel George (90+3) to win 4-3.
Speyside coach Kerry Lynch said his team was always in the match, despite the goals from the Royalians. "In fact, we missed a penalty in the 5th minute from C'el Toppin and had many chances in the game."
According to Lynch, his team intends to win their remaining matches in the League, noting "We also believe that we can achieve this. In all the matches we have played, we were never out-played by anyone, Leaders Naparima scored on us late in the match, otherwise, it was an evenly contested affair."
Meanwhile, QRC's encounter with Presentation College scheduled for the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella has been postponed to a date and venue to be decided, after the Royalians were unable to make it back to Trinidad in time.
Naparima will attempt to extend its lead at the top of the standing with a tricky test at home to Carapichaima. The two teams are the only unbeaten teams in the League presently but Naps will be hoping to enjoy home advantage.
If they achieve this, a win will push the southerners to 29 points. However, Caps will move to 22 points to occupy either second or third position on the table, depending on the outcome of the St Anthony's and Pleasantville Secondary encounter at West moorings.
SSFL Premier Division Result
(Monday 14 October)
Speyside Secondary 4 (Jelanie James 75, Deleon Beckles 83, Nicholas Sanchez 85, Adriel George 90+3) vs QRC 3 (Kadeem Joseph OG 19, Nathaniel James 28, 49) at Speyside.
WEDNESDAY'S MATCHES
[All games kick off at 3.30pm]
St Augustine vs Speyside Sec @ St Augustine
Naparima vs Carapichaima @Lewis Street
Trinity East vs East Mucurapo @Trinity East
SanJuan North vs Malick @San Juan
Trinity Moka vs St Benedict's @ Moka
St Anthony's College vs Pleasantville Sec @St Anthony's
St Mary’s College are on a bye.
Latest Standings
Team*P*W*D*L*F*A*GD*PTS
1*Naparima*10*8*2*0*25*10*15*26
2*Presentation College*9*7*1*1*25*6*19*22
3*St Anthony’s*9*6*2*1*31*10*21*20
4*Carapichaima Sec*9*5*4*0*16*9*7*19
5*East Mucurapo*9*5*3*1*18*8*10*18
6*QRC*9*5*1*3*18*20*-2*16
7*San Juan North*9*3*2*4*19*7*12*11
8*St Augustine*9*2*4*3*18*16*-2*10
9*Pleasantville Sec*9*3*1*5*12*14*-2*10
10*Malick Sec*10*3*1*6*15*19*-4*10
11*Trinity East*8*2*2*4*13*18*-5*8
12*Speyside Sec*9*2*2*5*11*24*-13*8
13*St Benedict’s*9*2*1*6*8*19*-11*7
14*Trinity Moka*9*1*1*7*11*31*-20*4
15*St Mary’s*10*1*1*8*5*34*-29*4