ANTON JOSEPH would have been cross with himself yesterday. The Mucurapo Senior Comprehensive midfielder struck his effort from the penalty spot against the crossbar in the 34th minute. And then he saw Malick’s Sean Jack score the only goal of the contest to give his team a 1-0 win at Fatima Grounds.
At QRC Grounds: In an entertaining match, the homesters let a 2-0 half-time advantage over Trinity slip, the game eventually ending in a 3-3 draw. Mark-Anthony Williams, Ruel Rigsby and Carron Williams netted for the Royalians while former Fatima striker Oni Thomas, Clinton Lawrence and Kerwin Ramkissoon found then et for the visitors.
And at the Oval: North Zone newcomers Success Laventille scored an 3-1 upset victory against Tranquillity.
In the East Zone’s only match of the day at the Arima Municipal Stadium, Michael Grayson ‘s Arima edged the recently promoted Toco unit 3-2.
Down South, Nkosi Blackman netted a hattrick as St Benedict’s pounded out a 4-1 win over Moruga Composte at Basil Matthews Complex yesterday.
Blackman sent the La Romain boys ahead in the 13th minute, when he booted home past goalkeeper Gregory Lancaster after a through pass from midfielder Keith Williams. Last year’s runners-up went two goals up when Blackman gained his double with a powerful low right-footer that gave keeper Lancaster no chance. The visitor’s came fighting back, though, and were rewarded 13 minutes before the interval, a Jason Sandbury left-footer beating goalkeeper Anton Alleyne for pace. But that was as close as they would get. Four minutes into the second period, André Alexis put the game out of the visitors’ reach when he tapped over the head of the advancing Lancaster after a long right-side pass by Blackman. Blackman notched his hattrick ten minutes from time as he kicked over an onrushing Lancaster.
At Mayaro, Amir Haniff and Colin Samuels were the marksmen for the winners in their 2-0 win over Pleasantville.
But back at Fatima, that blatant miss apart, Joseph and his teammates had other opportunities to set things straight.
In a game in which Ian Clauzel’s squad failed to show organisation in attack, Joseph blasted a lay off from speedy left-winger Shawn Andrews way over the bars into the pavilion in the dying stages of the game.
And Adrian Cedeno wasted Andrews’s good service in the last minute when he sent his volley much in the same direction as Joseph’s.
Earlier, though, had Ken Franco’s team shown more accuracy in shooting, the game would have been out of the reach of the Mucurapo boys.
Odelle Armstrong and Kevon Serrette, playing for the injured Devon Jorsling, were merely successful in finding a well-placed Dawrence Williams in the Mucurapo goal.
The inacuracy in shooting was not limited to Malick. Joseph failed to convert from the spot after Andrews was brought down.
But when Jack slapped home from inside the box in the 54th minute for the winner, the more deserving team had earned the victory.
YESTERDAY’S SCORES
North Zone
Malick 1 (S.Jack) Mucurapo 0
QRC 3 (M.Williams, R. Rigsby, C.Williams) Trinity 3 (K.Ramkissoon, C.Lawrence, O.Thomas)
Tranquillity 1 (C.Edwards) Success Laventille 3 (K.Joseph (pen), I.Macauley, K.Cardor)
East Zone
Arima 3 (R.Watkins, D.Lewis, D.La Guerre) Toco 2 (D.Alexander)
South Zone
St Benedict’s 4 (N.Blackman 3, A.Alexis) Moruga 1 (J.Sandbury)
Mayaro 2 (A.Haniff, C.Samuels) Pleasantville 0 0