Arima North Secondary came from behind to beat San Juan North Secondary 5-4 in a heated BGTT Secondary Schools Football East Zone League encounter in front of a bumper crowd at Arima Velodrome yesterday.
San Juan North went ahead in the 13th minute through Anthony Downes before Brent Sam doubled their lead in the 23rd.
Arima surged back through Kwesi Windsor’s 25th and 34th minute strikes but San Juan went 3-2 ahead with Oneel McDowell scoring in the 35th.
In the second half, Arima skipper Neveal Hackshaw leveled the scores in the 56th before Downes restored his team’s lead in the 60th.
Thomas O’Neil’s 70th minute item brought Arima back before Hakim Baird’s 79th minute goal closed off the scoring to give the defending champions Arima the win.
In the first game of the doubleheader, the St Augustine “Green Machine” rolled past El Dorado East Secondary with a 2-0 victory.
St Augustine created more opportunities to score and dominated possession throughout the match, eventually getting their first goal from Akim Andrews in the 12th minute after a sustained period of pressure which started five minutes earlier.
The “Green Machine” had a golden opportunity to make it 2-0 in the 17 minute after the El Dorado goal keeper Tevin Boswell committed a foul inside the penalty area. But he made up for the infraction, saving the resulting penalty kick taken by Triston Hodge.
Boswell went on to make some stunning saves to keep his side in the match. In a pulsating minute of play, the 31st, the El Dorado goalkeeper denied Ricardo John, Andrews and Jordon Devonish to ensure the score remained 1-0 at the half.
However, St Augustine sealed the result with eight minutes left when Devonish finally got his name on the scoresheet to make it 2-0.
In other games yesterday, Central Zone kicked off with a 4-2 victory for Presentation College Chaguanas over newcomers Vishnu Boys at Ato Boldon Stadium.
Yesterday’s BGTT SSFL scores
East Zone — At Arima Velodrome
St Augustine 2 (Akim Andrews 12th, Jordan Devonish 82nd) vs El Dorado East 0
Arima North 5 (Kwesi Windsor 25th, 34th, Neveal Hackshaw 56th, Thomas O’Neil 70th, Hakim Baird 79th) vs San Juan North 4 (Anthony Downes 13th, 60th, Brent Sam 23rd, Oneal McDowell 35th)
Central Zone —At Ato Boldon Stadium
Presentation College Chaguanas 4 (Rakeem Collins 4th, Paul Reyes 36th, Pernel Roberts 47th, Sigmund Skinner 88th) vs Vishnu Boys 2 (Navendra Joseph 11th, Kevon Ramdanie 20th)
South Zone — At Skinner Park
St Benedict’s 1 (Shaquille Ferrier 79th) vs Shiva Boys 1 (Shavon Diaz 72nd)
Presentation College San Fernando 2 (Angel Williams 67th, Shaquille Henry 68th) vs Naparima College 0
Tobago Zone — At Shaw Park
Speyside 2 (Weah Adams, Brandon Benjamin) vs Signal Hill 0
Scarborough 2 (Jase George, Taferrel Joseph) vs Mason Hall 0
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