Trendsetter Hawks made up for missing out on the Northern Football Association Premier Division title by edging North Coast SCC 2-1 in the zonal FA final at the Hasely Crawford Stadium Training Field in Mucurapo on Tuesday night.
Daniel David fired Hawks ahead on the stroke of half-time as they led 1-0 at the break and ten minutes from the final whistle, Isaiah Primus doubled the advantage to 2-0.
However, three minutes later, Brandon Quintero pulled a goal back for North Coast SCC and they were handed a lifeline to send the match into penalty-kicks when Hawks’ Ato Emmanuel was issued a second-yellow card for a foul in the 18-yard-box on Damien Williams.
But it was not to be as Colin Kirk failed to convert the penalty to the dismay of his team-mates and delight of Hawks, who held on for the win to make amends for last year’s final defeat.
Speaking after the win, Hawks’ coach Anthony “Dada” Wickham said it was nice to end with the title having thrown away the league after faltering in their final couple matches.
“We made up our mind to come out and run this team (North Coast) right down to the end after they defeated us in one of our finals matches to close out the season, which took away the league from us,” Wickham said.
“Most of the players grew up in this academy from around nine-years-old and we didn’t have them at the start of the season due to their involvement in colleges football and once that was over they came back and boosted the team.
“We now have to do a little reflection and come back again next year and win the league and try and qualify to the Super League.”
Last Wednesday, Isaiah Leacock fired in a beaver-trick as Cultural Roots United celebrated being crowned new Premier Division champions, their second in club history, with a 6-1 spanking of last year’s winners Miscellaneous Laventille United at Dibe Recreation Ground, Long Circular, St James.
Leacock, who scored a hat-trick on Sunday last when his team scored a come-from-behind 4-2 win over North Coast SCC at North Coast Ground, Maracas, got his goals in the third, 13th, 36th and 55th minutes to end as the league’s top scorer with 17 to his name.
Kareem Joseph added a double in the 29th and 57th minutes for Cultural Roots, who ended with 38 points from their 16-match schedule, seven ahead of runner’s-up Cantaro United, who blanked former champions St Francois Nationals 4-0 led by braces from Simeon Bailey and Marcus Berot.
Results
FA Final
(December 17)
TRENDSETTER HAWKS 2 (Daniel David 45th, Isaiah Primus 80th) v NORTH COAST SCC 1 (Brandon Quintero 83rd)
Premier Division
CULTURAL ROOTS 6 (Isaiah Leacock 3rd, 13th, 36th, 55th, Kareem Joseph 29th, 57th) v MISCELLANEOUS LAVENTILLE 1
CANTARO UNITED 4 (Simeon Bailey 22nd, 60th, Marcus Berot 37th, 88th) v ST FRANCOIS NATIONALS 0
BELMONT FC 2 (Maciek Hoyte 80th, Alec Benny 91st) v NORTH COAST SCC 2 (Kevin Quintero 21st, Jameel Maharaj 45th)
MISCELLANEOUS LAVENTILLE 2 (Tyler Kirton 22nd, 79th) v BELMONT FC 2 (Christopher Hernandez 84th, Matin Sedighi 93rd)
PATNA/RIVER ESTATE UNITED 3 v PARAMIN SCHOLARS UNITED 0 – by default
Final standings
Premier Division:
Teams P W D L F A Pts
1. Cultural Roots 16 12 2 2 52 17 38
2. Cantaro Utd 16 9 4 3 52 23 31
3. Trendsetter Hawks 16 9 3 4 43 17 30
4. Belmont FC 16 7 6 3 29 25 27
5. St Francois Nationals 16 6 6 4 35 30 24
6. Patna/River Estate 16 6 2 8 28 31 20
7. North Coast SCC 16 4 6 6 31 32 18
8. Miscellaneous Lav’tille 16 1 3 12 25 73 6
9. Paramin Scholars 16 0 4 12 14 61 4
Championship Division:
Teams P W D L F A Pts
1. Front Line 14 11 1 2 62 24 34
2. P.V/D.M 14 10 2 2 62 19 32
3. Harvard 14 7 2 5 26 27 23
4. Seekers FC 14 7 1 6 36 33 22
5. RSSR FC 14 6 0 8 28 38 18
6. Morvant Elements 13 4 1 8 25 53 13
7. Malvern SC 14 3 2 9 21 42 11
8. Combined Forces 14 2 1 1 25 50 7
SOURCE: T&T Guardian