Twenty-six years have passed since Fatima College last experienced the joy of winning the coveted national InterCol football crown.
The exploits of the school’s 1979 title-winning team, which included the likes of Kenwin Nancoo, Graeme Rodriguez, Anton Corneal and Garnet Craig, has gone down into legend and are now a distant memory.
Scores of promising players and teams have since represented the well-known establishment, but all fell woefully short of equalling the ’79 outfit’s achievement.
Being a Fatima “old boy” and an avid lover of the sport, I have always tried to follow the school’s progress in the Secondary Schools Football League over the years, which, unfortunately, has been little to none at the popular Under-19 level.
During my time there, right up until last year, it was either a case of the team being dependant on one man to do all the work, which can only bring limited success; being a good unit but lacking the killer instinct; or just lacking what it took to be competitive.
So, after seeing my former alma mater fail time and again to cop any kind of silverware, I, and I’m quite sure I speak for a lot of other students who were probably either too young to remember the triumph in ’79 or not even born yet (like me), was beginning to wonder if this trend would ever end during my lifetime.
Well I am more than happy to say that this year, it has. The drought is over and the title belongs to Fatima. Finally!
November 27, 2005 is a day that will live on in the memories of all present and former pupils, teachers, and supporters, especially those who were at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, as we were privileged enough to witness the boys in blue and gold stylishly clinch the third national InterCol crown in the school’s history, with a 2-1 win over “The Green Machine”, St Augustine Senior Comprehensive.
What a way to celebrate Fatima’s 60-year anniversary.
Honestly, winning the InterCol title was no more than it deserved, as the Errol Mc Farlane-coached squad was arguably the best in the competition, exhibiting the confidence, skill, maturity and resilience which any champion normally possesses.
Captained by former national youth team player, Machel James, Fatima got off to a blazing start in the North Zone league competition. It won its first seven matches, scoring 30 goals and conceding just two.
Midfielders Kieran Marin, and Emmanuel Joseph were bossing the middle of the park and getting their names on the score sheet, while striker Makesi Lewis was in devastating form in front of goal, ending the season with 25 goals.
Machel, his brother Marvin, overlapping left-back Kevon Villaroel, Elijah Belgrave and Sean Bateau made Fatima almost impenetrable at the back. And on the rare occasion when the defence was eluded, impressive goalkeeper Adrian Foncette was almost sure to thwart the opposition.
The next two matches tested the team’s resolve, as they were back-to-back losses to Mucurapo (1-0) and St Anthony’s (4-1), which they beat in the first round.
In 2003 and 2004, Fatima started in similar fashion, then fizzled away as the competition went on, and it was beginning to look like the dreaded “drop in form” was about to recur. James and his men were determined to not let that happen, however.
The losses, which ended up costing Fatima the zonal title, turned out to be blessings in disguise as they made the team evaluate itself.
“I think we got ahead of ourselves and that cost us the league. So after the St Anthony’s match, we (the players) came together and decided enough is enough. This is never to happen again,” said the captain.
And it never did.
They went on to avenge the loss to St Anthony’s, whipping “the Tigers” 4-2 in the North InterCol semifinal, then came back from a goal down in injury time to tie 4-4 with Mucurapo in a topsy-turvy final, which saw Fatima leading 2-1 at half-time. They won the penalty shootout 5-4 to hoist the zonal InterCol trophy.
National Under-15 striker Chad De Freitas, hampered by a sore instep for most of the league, was back to full fitness and finding the net frequently, getting goals in the wins over St Anthony’s, Mucurapo and St Augustine. Marin though had his season prematurely ended by an ankle injury sustained in the North InterCol semifinal.
The injury bug also hit right-back Sheldon Bateau, super-sub Sherron Joseph, the scorer of the vital equaliser in the national semifinal against Naparima, and Marvin James, who limped off in the first ten minutes of the national final. That did not stop them from performing well, however, as it possessed a depth of quality players other teams did not.
With talented reserves like Brenton Balbosa, Yohance Williams, Kade Cottoy and Jevon Morris, coach Mc Farlane was still able to field teams that were better than some of the opponents’ first-choice 11.
“I think what made the difference for us this year was that our pre-season preparation was much better than the previous years. A lot of players came out from the start. Also, all the players play for clubs throughout the year so they have sufficient experience to perform at this level,” said the proud coach.
Mc Farlane also attributed Fatima’s triumphant season to principal Anthony Garcia, who he said supported the team endlessly.
For a school starved of success on the football field and its supporters, the victory was priceless. Both will be hoping they do not have to wait another twenty-something years before celebrating a fourth title, but with Mc Farlane at the helm and the core of the 2005 team poised to return in 2006, around this time next year Fatima could well be toasting to a successful title defence.
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