St Anthony's College weathered the onslaught of a determined Fatima College football unit to win their third consecutive BGTT/First Citizens Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) North Zone title with a 0-0 draw in their replay, at St Anthony's Ground, Westmoorings, yesterday.
Both sides looked evenly matched when the game got under way, and each team created some good scoring opportunities early on to the delight of the crowd whose voices grew louder as the match unfolded.
Fatima knew they had to win to stop the "Tigers" from repeating as North Zone champs, and had a chance to put their hosts under some early pressure with Seon Thomas forcing a save from the St Anthony's goalkeeper Javon Sample in the third minute.
Fatima were back on the attack in the 16th minute when Omari George took advantage of a defensive error, but his shot was eventually saved by Sample.
At the other end, St Anthony's answered, but Savion Kerton's effort was saved by Deandre Villaroel.
Keane McIvor also had a good game for St Anthony's. Fighting for possession down the left side, he found Shaquille Long in the middle, but Long could not beat the Fatima keeper.
The second half played out much like the first with both sides creating good opportunities to score, but they just could not find the back of the net.
The anticipation mounted coming down to the end of the match. The Fatima supporters got behind their players, spurring them on for a last minute onslaught which kept the home team defending for much of the last ten minutes.
St Anthony's soaked up the late pressure, content that a draw would eventually earn them the hat-trick of titles.
St Anthony's will now play the winners of the Central Zone in the BGTT "Big 5" competition, at Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva next Tuesday.
The Central Zone crown will either go to Carapichaima East Secondary or Chaguanas North Secondary.
Chaguanas North are currently at the top of the standings, but that could change given the result of the disciplinary hearing today to determine the first leg, which Chaguanas North won 2-1 over "Caps".
If that result is reversed, then "Caps" will win the Central Zone even before the final round of matches, tomorrow.
The other zonal champions who have already been crowned are Arima North Secondary in the East Zone and Presentation College San Fernando in the South.
‘Tigers’ celebrate north title again.
T&T Guardian Reports.
Despite a flurry of opportunities and half chances, Fatima College failed to break down a stubborn St Anthony’s College team, which after playing to a 0-0 draw at home, successfully defended its BGTT/First Citizens Secondary Schools Football League North Zone title, for the second time, yesterday.
The Nigel Grosvenor-coached “Westmooring Tigers”, which won the North Zone title for three straight years, sealed its spot at the top of the seven-team standings with an unassailable 26-point tally, four more than East Mucurapo, which has just one match remaining in the roster.
St Anthony’s has completed its 12-match league schedule, and will now look ahead to the Big-Five competition, where it is scheduled to meet the winner of the Central Zone. The match was a fairly even one with Fatima having several chances to take an opening lead, if not for a strong St Anthony’s defence.
Decent handling and proper positioning from the “Tigers’” custodian Jevon Sample also kept his team in contention. The result meant that St Anthony’s College has gone unbeaten in 31 competitive SSFL and InterCol matches, since the first day of the 2011 season, and is rightfully one of the favourites to retain the overall title this season.
Unfortunately, for both the team and the coach, the win was recorded in the absence of Grosvenor, who only arrived from the U-16’s tour of Colombia, to meet the team in mid celebration. Team manager Anthony Clarence expressed much satisfaction in the way the team has defended the title, even without some of its key players who were out due to injuries.
“We want to go all the way. But, as champions everyone will be gunning for you. Even though the match was equal, Fatima showed that they were hungry for a result and we know that going forward will bring the same from teams around the country,” said Clarence.
He continued, “We cannot lapse. Our next match which will probably be against Carapichaima, will be difficult, so the players will continue working hard.” While St Anthony’s cannot be reached in the final standing, East Mucurapo is also out of reach from the five other teams for the runners up spot.
However, the teams which are placed from third to seventh in the standings, will be trying either to seal their places or advance in the standings with the final round of matches to be played on Wednesday. This will determine their positions in the Coca Cola InterCol Zonal quarterfinals.
Also to be decided are the disciplinary committee’s rulings of matches in the Central and Tobago Zones. The ruling of the match between Chaguanas North and Carapichaima East Secondary, in which the former took a 2-1 win in controversial fashion, will be decided before lunchtime today. If Carapichaima is awarded three points, the team will move to the top of the standings, with one match remaining.
In Tobago, Scarborough will lift the title with a victory over Mason Hall, when the two teams clash tomorrow. Presentation College San Fernando (South) and Arima North (East) are the two teams which have already confirmed their zonal title status, and a place in the SSFL Big-Five competition.
North Standings
Teams P W D L F A Pts
St Anthony’s 12 7 5 0 19 8 26
East Mucurapo 11 6 4 1 22 8 22
Fatima 11 5 3 3 17 12 18
St Mary’s 11 5 2 4 14 11 17
QRC 11 3 2 6 20 27 11
D/Martin North 11 2 2 7 9 21 8
Trinity 11 1 2 8 5 19 5
Upcoming Fixtures.
Quarter Finals
29/10/12 (A) Arima North vs Presentation College, San Fernando 5:00pm Larry Gomes Stadium
Semi Finals
30/10/12 (B) Central Zone Winner vs St. Anthony’s 4:00pm Ato Boldon Stadium
31/10/12 (C) Tobago Zone Winner vs Winner of (A) 4:00pm Dwight Yorke Stadium
Finals
05/11/12 (D) Winner of (B) vs Winner of (C) 5:00pm To be advised
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