From the neutral's point of view, it's a bit sad to see Presentation College San Fernando's season end via kicks from the penalty spot after a gutsy display against St Mary's College at the Hasely Crawford Stadium yesterday. But North Zone champions St Mary's now venture into the national RBTT InterCol semi-finals with a 5-3 victory in the spotkick shootout, after the teams were locked at 2-2 at the end of extra-time.
St Mary's will now meet El Dorado Secondary Comprehensive at the Mucurapo Stadium on Tuesday from 4 p.m. in the InterCol "semis", while St Augustine Secondary Comprehensive will play the winner of today's only quarter-final between Naparima College and Carapichaima Secondary Comprehensive, from 4 p.m. at Marabella's Manny Ramjohn Stadium.
The "Green Machine" got past Malick Secondary Comprehensive on goals from Kareem Paul (10th) from close range and Mark Alibey (20th) off a goalkeeping error by Malick's Joseph Baird. The only answer from the Morvant-based team came from Nicholas Solomon in the 39th. El Dorado came away from the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago, yesterday with a 2-1 victory over Tobago champs Scarborough Secondary.
In the other quarter, Presentation might feel "Lady Luck" just wouldn't look their way last evening, as Renetor Martin missed what a player would score nine times out of ten, chipping over with the open goal at his mercy from point blank range deep into extra time. The scoreline was then 2-2.
National youth midfielder Sean De Silva was responsible for giving St Mary's the lead in the 93th, running onto a well-weighted through ball and beating Pres goalie Terrence Ramsaroop in a one-on-one situation to the delight of hundreds of zealous, young-and even middle-aged-fans.
The story took a further twist when Presentation equalised five minutes later. Jardim blocked Anslym Edwards' shot off a 45th minute Marshall throw, only for Clarence to tap in the rebound. The teams were so evenly matched that during regulation time they could not be separated. The 1-1 scoreline they took to the halftime break remained after 90 minutes.
Marshall had Presentation's best chance early on, but the St Mary's defence smothered his blast in the 18th. At the other end, striker Hakeem King kept Ramsaroop honest, forcing at least two saves from close range, and even turning provider for his skipper Veer Lakhan-Joseph, who lost a race for the ball with Ramsaroop in the 36th. In between, King was also caught in the offside trap three times.
But the striker did make his mark in the match against the run of play in the 42nd, sending an enthusiastic crowd into delirium. As players battled for the ball in midfield, it landed neatly for King, who controlled, rushed into the area, and shook his marker before knocking past the opposing goalkeeper.
Celebrations had not even wound down when Presentation replied, Marshall holding off his marker long enough to angle his shot across Jardim and into the net at the far post. King let off the Presentation defence twice late in the second period and another national youth player, Leston Paul, hit the crossbar in the final minute of regulation time. Still, Presentation held on to force the match into extra-time, and penalty kicks. The last laugh belonged to St Mary's though, at least until Tuesday's meeting with El Dorado.
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