There are times when a draw can feel like a victory. Fatima College fans certainly felt so when their team grabbed a last minute goal to earn a 1-1 draw at home to St Mary’s College in the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) yesterday.
Fatima captain Kyell Lancaster’s leveller deep into stoppage time sealed a draw and brought the home fans screaming as they poured onto the field to celebrate. Two kicks later and it was all over, leaving St Mary’s floored, literally, as some players sank to the ground in disbelief.
The way they controlled the match in large periods, and with Fatima looking much less likely to score over the first 70 minutes, the “Saints” would have expected to cruise to the final whistle with their 1-0 lead intact.
But their decision to close the game out added pressure on them in the last 15 minutes, and the momentum towards Fatima. The law of averages went their way, as they missed, missed and missed again before finally sealing it four minutes after regulation time had ended.
It meant St Mary’s suffered their first blemish, having beaten St Augustine 3-0, and Naparima 1-0 in their first two matches. It was also the first goal the Saints have conceded in the 2014 League.
St Mary’s surprised few with their opening goal after building early pressure. Chinua Bernard powered home a header from a corner kick in the 18th minute, and rode that advantage to halftime with a stronger performance against their more physical opponents.
Most of the drama was saved for the second half though, and a few players could have seen red from the referee as the play deteriorated in the second half.
St Mary’s passing game didn’t not work as well against Fatima’s direct, rough approach, but they pushed on and should have doubled their advantage in the 72nd minute. But Jean-Marc De Souza, having two bites of the cherry off an Aaron Noel free kick, was twice denied by Fatima custodian Jonathan Uddenberg at point blank range. They never again got close to doubling up.
Fatima’s Marquise Hoyte was guilty of several misses, most notably during a goalmouth scramble midway through the second half, and then in the 85th when he failed to direct a cross by Dillon Abraham goalward.
But once Hoyte was denied by Saints’ goalkeeper Kristopher Donaldson, Lancaster rushed into the box and found the far post from the right, shooting from just inside the 18-metre box. The ball seemed to take forever to go in, but certainly knew its destination.
It was perhaps a fitting result, a point each for St Mary’s dominance and Fatima’s grit to stay in the contest to the very end.
St Anthony’s win Benedict’s points.
St Anthony’s College have been awarded a 3-0 win and three goals for their match last week against St Benedict’s College. The match was not played because the referee ruled that the ground was not properly marked.
Yesterday, St Anthony’s College coach Nigel Grosvenor confirmed that the Secondary School Football League had awarded the match to visitors St Anthony’s.
Yesterday’s SSL Results
Premier Division
St Anthony’s 5 (Kwesi Allen, Shakeen Patrick, Simon Bishop) vs Carapichaima East 0
Trinity East 2 (Sean Bonval 53rd, Dorian Daniel 62nd) vs Shiva Boys 1 (Marvin Seuradge)
St Augustine 1 vs East Mucurapo 0
Fatima 1 (Kyell Lancaster 90) vs St Mary’s 1 (Chinua Bernard 18)
San Juan North 4 vs Chaguanas North 1
St Benedict’s 1 vs Arima North 0
Presentation S’Fdo 1 vs Naparima 2
Tobago Zone
Speyside 5 (Brandon Benjamin 2, Samson Caesar 2, Shaffie McKenzie) vs Roxborough 0
Goodwood 0 vs Bishop’s High 0
Signal Hill 0 vs Pentecostal L&L 0
Premier Division Standings
P W D L F A Pts
St. Anthony's College 3 3 0 0 12 2 9
St. Mary's College 3 2 1 0 5 1 7
San Juan North Secondary 3 2 0 1 10 4 6
Arima North Secondary 3 2 0 1 6 3 6
St. Augustine Secondary 3 2 0 1 6 5 6
Naparima College 3 2 0 1 4 3 6
St. Benedict's College 3 2 0 1 3 3 6
Trinity College East 3 1 1 1 5 6 4
Fatima College 3 1 1 1 4 7 4
Shiva Boys Hindu College 3 1 0 2 3 4 3
Carapichaima East Secondary 3 0 2 1 1 6 2
Chaguanas North Secondary 3 0 1 2 1 5 1
East Mucurapo Secondary 3 0 0 3 1 6 0
Presentation College, San Fernando 3 0 0 3 4 10 0
Championship Division (Tobago)
P W D L F A Pts
Speyside Secondary 1 1 0 0 3 0 3
Signal Hill 1 1 0 0 3 1 3
Goodwood 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Pentecostal L&L 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Scarborough Secondary 1 0 0 1 1 3 0
Bishop’s High 1 0 0 1 0 3 0
Roxborough 0 0 0 0 0 0 0