St Anthony's College pulled off the first victory of the BG T&T Secondary Schools Football League 2010 season, edging Mucurapo East Secondary 1-0 in North Zone action yesterday at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain.
Defending North Zone champions St Mary's College were also victorious at the Mucurapo venue yesterday, turning back Queen's Royal College 2-1 in a come-from-behind win.
QRC took the lead in the 23rd minute, Akil Morris finding goalkeeper Raheem Belgrave's far post from the right, but Joel Superville struck in the 35th and 43rd minutes, taking advantage of two defensive mix-ups to help the "Saints" pick up full points.
But Trinity College lead the North Zone standings on goal difference, in front of St Mary's and St Anthony's, respectively, after scoring a 3-1 win over newly-promoted Malick Secondary.
The match between Mucurapo East and St Anthony's lacked the excitement of an SSFL season opener. The "Tigers" of Westmoorings had the much better attack for most of the encounter and provided some thrills for their fans in the first half hour, but then the match tapered off a bit.
Rain in the second half certainly did not add excitement, but the Tigers had already done the damage in the first half when Rayshard Allen hit the net in the 24th minute.
St Anthony's actually did much of the early running, but Mucurapo had the first real chance, a free kick from shooting range on the left from midfielder Jabari Thomas that went wrong.
Allen always threatened to score in the first half; he had two shots in the first 20 minutes from close range, one snuffed out by the Mucurapo defence, the other held by goalkeeper Dwayne Thomas.
Keane McIvor also tested his luck from distance and he would unwittingly turn goal provider, shooting from 18 metres away on the right. Although Thomas (J) was able to block his effort, it fell invitingly for Allen, who drove in a low right-footer from 20 metres, down the centre of goal.
Thomas fumbled the ball and St Anthony's had the lead.
"Compre" did have a few chances to pull one back before the break, but Tigers goalkeeper Jamal Francois, despite being short, was very competent in the air to deny any attempts on goal.
St Anthony's right winger Andell Francois was a thorn in Mucurapo's side, particularly in the second half. He made a menace of himself with some dribbling runs and even left three defenders for dead midway through the second period, only for his cross across goal to flash past everyone.
Even with the rain on the hour, which saw Mucurapo's play improve, they could not find the equaliser, substitute Aaqil Campbell dragging wide from just outside the penalty area. Francois (J) also held Mucurapo skipper Kaejay Ramdoo's free kick in the 76th, despite the wet pitch.
Mucurapo could have grabbed a share of the points in the 83rd, but the Tigers' goalie intervened with an excellent right-handed parry to save Alvin Jones' blast aimed at the underside of the crossbar.
Thomas (D) matched that effort at the other end, stopping what looked a sure goal in stoppage time from St Anthony's second-half sub Garvin Samaroo by stretching his frame across the penalty area, after the striker had broken away from defenders and driven low to the far post.
That meant just a 1-0 win for the boys from Westmoorings and the Tigers will certainly accept full points, especially in a shortened season and with only five matches left to play.
Yesterday's SSFL results:
NORTH ZONE
St Anthony's 1 (Rayshard Allen 24th) vs Mucurapo East 0
St Mary's 2 (Joel Superville 35th, 43rd) vs QRC 1 (Akil Morris 23rd)
Trinity 3 vs Malick 1 (Andell Andrews 75th)
EAST ZONE
St Augustine 0 vs Trinity East 0
Arima North 2 (Tevin Figaro 4th, Kern Roberts 85th) v El Dorado 1 (Aaron St Louis 37th)
Barataria South 1 (Atiba Cudjoe) vs San Juan North 5 (Joshua St Rose 28th, Andrew Smith 56th, 73nd, 83rd; Kurdelle Brathwaite 80th)
SOUTH ZONE
Presentation (Sando) 0 vs Naparima 1 (Akeil Wilson 90th+)
St Benedict's 0 vs Pleasantville 1 (Akeel Boyce 55th)
Princes Town West 0 vs Shiva Boys 2
Today's Girls SSFL fixtures:
NORTH ZONE
Blanchisseuse High vs Providence, Blanchisseuse, 3.45 p.m.
St Joseph's Convent PoS vs Maple Leaf Int'l, Serpentine Road, 3.45 p.m.
St Francois Girls College vs Malick Sec, St Francois, 3.45 p.m.
EAST ZONE
Toco Sec vs St George's College, Toco, 3.45 p.m.
Arima North Sec vs El Dorado East Sec, Arima, 3.45 p.m.
San Juan North Sec vs St Augustine Sec, San Juan, 3.45 p.m.
SOUTH ZONE
Debe High vs Point Fortin West, Guaracara Park, 3.45 p.m.
Point Fortin East vs Fyzabad Anglican, Point Fortin, 3.45 p.m.
Holy Faith Convent vs Pleasantville Sec, Penal, 3.45 p.m.
TOBAGO ZONE
Bishop's High vs Scarborough Sec, Bishop's, 3.45 p.m.
Harmon High vs Speyside Sec, Calder Hall, 3.45 p.m.
Signal Hill Sec vs Roxborough Sec, Carnbee, 3.45 p.m
‘Saints’ march past QRC as SSFL opens.
T&T Newsday Reports.
Defending North Zone champions St Mary’s got their title defence off on a positive note when they defeated arch-rivals Queen’s Royal College 2-1 as action in the British Gas Secondary Schools Football League got underway at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, yesterday.
The Royalians looked the more dangerous from the kick-off and took the lead in the 15th minute when Akiel Morris scored.
But striker Joel Superville gave “The Saints” the equaliser in the 25th minute, and turned hero when he completed a double in the 40th minute to lead his team to victory.
The game was the second of a double at the Hasely Crawford Stadium and followed an earlier 1-0 victory for St Anthony’s College over Mucurapo East Secondary.
The lone strike for the ‘St Anthony’s Tigers’ came from the boot of Rayshad Allen in the 24th minute.
In another match, Trinity College whipped Malick 3-1 at Moka, Maraval.
Meanwhile, in the East Zone champions St Augustine shared the points with Trinity College East in a goalless draw at their Warren Street home ground. In another game, Arima North Secondary beat El Dorado East 2-1 at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar Arima.
And San Juan North hammered Barataria South 5-1 at Barataria Recreation ground.
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