A war of attrition between North and South was fought down at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium yesterday afternoon. It stretched into the evening. And at the extended end, the boys from the North, Fatima College were the ones left standing.
Their 4-3 spot kick shootout win over South champions Naparima College took Fatima into the 2005 final of RBTT InterCol.
Skipper Machel James' accurate final kick ensured that the North InterCol champions reached their first national final in some 24 years. Ironically, they will play the side who beat them in that 1981 final, St Augustine Secondary Comprehensive.
Perhaps it was that knowledge of history which drove James and his players on yesterday.
The dominant side when in possession, Fatima nevertheless had to show InterCol's never-say-die spirit to keep their trophy dream alive.
Only one minute of regulation time was left with Fatima undeservedly trailing 1-0, when unmarked substitute Sherron Joseph collected a loose ball inside the 18-metre box and drilled his low shot past Naparima goalkeeper Leston Shade.
In a match where dogged defence rather than sparkling attack had been the order of the day, the nature of the goal was a surprise. It capped what had, by the game's standard, been a hectic last eight minutes which had begun with the opening goal scored by another substitute, Naparima's Jayson Joseph.
Javed Mohammed, Naps' key man in midfield, had fed him a left side cross which the unmarked Joseph (J) first headed to Fatima keeper Adrian Foncette. He couldn't hold, and from the rebound, Joseph blasted the ball into the net.
At that moment, it seemed as if Naps had done it again. All season, they had played unbeaten, managing always to fight a rearguard and get the goal that mattered. And yesterday, they were forced to do so again against a Fatima side physically superior and more aggressive. In the first half, Naps were confined to two long-range free kicks from Mohammed, who otherwise had been invisible.
But for all their possession, Fatima could not create the clear-cut chance to make the difference.
It took the Naps goal and the southerners' wavering concentration to get Fatima going.
And in extra time they should have put the game away, save for substitute Yohance Williams' missing of two gilt-edge chances. The second, which he blasted overbars with only Shade facing him and time to stop and contemplate, seemed like it could come back to haunt him and his side.
But Williams' skipper made sure in the shootout, that he and his mates would have no nightmares.
On to the final.
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