A schools football season that had started so promisingly for St Anthony's College ended with a whimper when they were outclassed 2-0 by Senior Division winners St Mary's College at the North Zone quarter-final stage of RBTT InterCol. In truth, as surprising as the scoreline may have sounded, in the context of the match, the upset could hardly be counted a surprise.
It was the underdogs who had the greater attacking force in the opening period, with Hakeem King, and national Under-17 midfielder Sean De Silva causing more problems than national Olympic goalkeeper Kevin Mussio would have been comfortable with. And after an inexplicable five minutes of stoppage time, the scoreline stood at 0-0 at half-time.
Once play restarted, the "Tigers" tried to impose themselves. On 52 minutes, St Mary's 'keeper Matthew Jardim could not collect cleanly but still kept the ball from Emery Joyeau's feet, and then burly striker Bradley Lawrence was hustled off the ball at the edge of the penalty area to the chagrin of coach Nigel Grovesnor-who recently ended his tenure after 25 years of coaching at the school.
He watched the encounter from the stands. Yet, the Westmoorings team still seemed unsettled.
Against the run of play, King put his team ahead in the 62nd minute, slamming past second half substitute goalie Sheldon Clarke, and St Mary's students stormed the field in a jubilant wave.
They eventually calmed down and returned to the stands. But contrastingly, the Tigers continued to be erratic. Conceding a goal hardly seemed to inspire them with purpose. The Tigers' every movement betrayed their lack of confidence.
And even with a lucky break in the 74th, as the ball landed at Joyeau's feet, Lawrence overran the ball, and wasted his eventual effort. De Silva's 77th minute free kick for the "Saints" provided a free header on goal for substitute Renaldo Garcia to plant his shot beneath Clarke and into goal.
As the seconds wound down, the Tigers tried desperately to pull one back, but their wayward efforts lacked the assurance they carried with them during the early half of the season.
At the final whistle, there were lusty celebrations from the triumphant St Mary's supporters, while a lone St Anthony's flag fluttered in the evening breeze.
St Mary's, who started the game with nothing to lose, now have everything to win. In the second match of the double-header, Mucurapo Senior Comprehensive prevailed over Queen's Royal College 5-4 in a penalty shootout following a 2-2 deadlock after regulation and extra time.
Speyside advanced to the Tobago Zonal semifinals with a 4-3 win over Bishop’s in penalty kicks, after both teams were goalless after 120 minutes of regulation and extra time.
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