Fatima College stretched their slim hopes of skipping into BG T&T Secondary Schools Football League "Big Five" competition at the expense of Mucurapo Secondary Comprehensive with a 2-0 victory over QRC at a muddy Fatima Ground yesterday.
Mucurapo were on a bye yesterday, but can still win the League with a point against Trinity College at Moka tomorrow.
Even with Fatima's latest result, "Compre" have a superior goal differential of nine goals, meaning only a Trinity triumph can deny them the North Zone title.
Fatima piled on the pressure on QRC, who barely had a look at goal in the first half. Instead, they were particularly busy defending, trying to keep Fatima at bay.
For 19 minutes they were successful at that, but then Kevon Durham found himself with space on the right of the area and held up the shot before squaring for De Freitas at the edge of the box. That removed QRC goalkeeper Kareem Joseph from the picture long enough for De Freitas to squeeze in a shot. His effort was smothered by the QRC defence, only to land at the feet of Russell, who poked into the near post on the second attempt.
De Freitas threatened twice from point-blank range before the break, but was denied by Joseph twice, the latter producing a brilliant one-handed reflex save to limit the deficit.
After the resumption, Fatima pushed for the winner, trying to seal the issue quickly. QRC, growing increasingly desperate, preferred to slam the ball upfield to avoid conceding again.
"Royalians" star striker Jerrel Britto was isolated at the edge of the area and was unable to make an impact for much of the match. He eventually dropped back to have more possession, but even a few insightful looks at goal and some incisive passes to teammates went unrewarded.
De Freitas settled the issue in the 67th after the ball dropped rather fortuitously for him. Joseph came out quickly to collect a long ball attempt and, to his chagrin, slipped in the mud and De Freitas pounced, hammering into an empty net.
QRC did try to reduce the deficit, pushing numbers forward as the match wore down, but their attack lacked the necessary finishing power. That was typified by Britto, who slammed the pitch in frustration after his pinpoint cross was muffed by an open Rashad Griffith, who stood six metres away from the goal line, with the net at his mercy. His poke landed nicely for Fatima to clear.
Still, the 2-0 result leaves the North Zone unsettled, with Mucurapo having to earn their Big Five spot with a point against Trinity tomorrow.
And the Tobago Zone will be settled today, with Signal Hill Secondary Comprehensive needing to repeat yesterday's 1-0 victory over Scarborough Secondary to win their zone.
They must win against the same opponent in a rescheduled fixture if they are to play in Tuesday's Big Five quarter-final, as defending champs Mason Hall thrashed Speyside High 7-0 in their quest to retain the zonal crown.
Yesterday's SSFL scores:
North Zone
Fatima 2 (Ross Russell Jr 19th; Chad De Freitas 67th) QRC 0
St Anthony's College 3 (Dwight Ceballo, Qian Grosvenor, Michael Bain) Malick 0
St Mary's 3 Trinity 1
East Zone
St Augustine 1 (Jabari Hinds) San Juan 0
Hillview 0 El Dorado 2 (Keron Hernandez, Joseph Brown)
Toco vs Trinity (East) did not play
Central Zone
Carapichaima 5 Presentation (Chag) 1
Chaguanas vs Marabella Jr did not play
South Zone
Naparima 4 Siparia 1
Pleasantville 3 St Benedict's 3
Vessigny 0 Presentation (S'do) 0
Tobago Zone
5-0 Mason Hall 7 (Stephano Wright 4, Benton Charles, Onassi Forde, Dwayne Donald) Speyside 0
Signal Hill 1 (Jamaine Walters) Scarborough 0
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