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Fri, Mar

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The match lived up to its billing yesterday as Mucurapo Senior Comprehensive dominated St Anthony's College yet again this season to take the RBTT North Zone InterCol title.


It was the third consecutive occasion this year that the boys in maroon overcame the Tigers, this time in an exciting 3-2 extra-time win at the Hasely Crawford Stadium that assured them of a zonal double (league and InterCol).

And amidst all the enthusiastic celebrations, it was probably the most important to date for this year's North Zone dominators.

What ensured an entertaining contest, though, was a commitment to attacking and open play by both teams. That situation was also helped, in no little way, by the 3-5-2 formation used by both schools.

Both teams' penchant to move forward was not matched by a willingness by their wide overlapping midfielders to retreat.

And that created the space for players to drive home the first two goals.

Comfortably stroking the ball around, Mucurapo struck first when a breakdown in a St Anthony's play at the half-line gave rise to a four-on-three situation where midfielder Khaleem Hyland worked sensibly to square a pass to sturdy striker Richard Roy.

With room to spare, Roy flicked up the ball at the top of the St Anthony's box before volleying powerfully home, goalkeeper Kegan Davidson, helplessly stationary, could only watch the ball bulge his net.

Spurred on by rhythm-beating supporters, the Tigers got the equaliser from a similar counter-attack. Striker Johnathan Glen was found wide open on the right of the Mucurapo penalty area by striking partner Lester Peltier and Glen finished clinically five minutes before the half.

The open football continued in the second period with Peltier for St Anthony's wasting a good send-through, blasting straight at the keeper when he should have side-stepped and hit to an open goal.

But St Anthony's gained the psychological edge with a Kareem Freitas goal from a well-curled Troy Thompson free kick from the left flank on 60 minutes.

Soon after, it seemed Mucurapo were out of the match when defender Irvin Rollow was baited into a rash tackle on St Anthony's most threatening player, Akil De Freitas. That earned him a second yellow card and an early trip to the shower. But being a man down forced Mucurapo to lift their game.

In fact, they then enjoyed superior possession as they wisely played the ball to the diagonal runs of their midfielders and Roy up front into the open space. It paid off with a penultimate minute equaliser from Atullah Guerra, the lanky midfielder turning sharply on a defender before blasting powerfully into the roof of the net from six metres out.

And Mucurapo's obvious momentum-contrasting with the on-field bickering between St Anthony's players after that goal which forced extra-time-was compounded by a brilliantly taken free kick and the decisive goal in the first minute of the extra period.

Starting at the top right corner of the Tigers' 18-metre box, Guerra played an on-the-turf pass to Roy who had freed himself from his marker to lay off one-time for Cyrano Glen at the "D". And Glen unleashed a left-footed drive that flew past Davidson. St Anthony's could not recover after that.

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