North Zone champions and two time "Big Five" winners St Anthony's College will put their unbeaten tag on the line today when they face Tobago champions Signal Hill at the Hasely Crawford Stadium from 4 p.m.
Signal Hill impressed on Friday with a 3-1 whipping of Carapichaima East Secondary, and will be hoping to cause a second such upset today.
While there was a certain familiar taste to yesterday's semi-final between Naparima College and St Augustine Secondary, today's contest has an alluring unknown factor.
Tobago teams have struggled to reach this far in recent years, and Signal Hill have earned their place with an impressive counter-attacking display.
The "Tigers" of Westmoorings on the other hand have played steady football, and after three 1-0 wins in four matches, they have started pouring in goals. They will, however, be without major defensive players in captain and last stopper Dwight Ceballo and goalkeeper Jamal Francois who are on national Under-20 duty.
Neither team has seen the other play this year, which makes the contest even more interesting.
On form and history, it is hard to predict today's winners in what should be a close match.
Signal Hill Secondary
The Tobago Zone champions are now brimming with confidence after a convincing 3-1 victory over Carapichaima in Tobago. Xavier King, Signal Hill manager and acting principal is expecting a tougher encounter against the Tigers.
"They're a lot more difficult (to prepare for) than Carapichaima," King said yesterday. "Carapichaima were playing too slowly, and I figure St Anthony's will be faster so they will be more difficult. It's not going to be like the (quarter-final)."
The team are beginning to hit their stride. Having gotten past the first hurdle, Signal Hill have earned the attention of Tobago for today's match.
King thinks a win against St Anthony's will bring Signal Hill the support of all of Tobago. His one concern though, is the fitness of his team.
"I think the first half will be crucial," he said. "(because) we don't know what to expect. We will be feeling out each other. I know they will be coming at us with pace. One of the things is that our fitness levels (are) not where I expect them to be."
St Anthony's College
Veteran coach Nigel Grosvenor, who has been at St Anthony's now for over 24 years, has put his faith in his team to continue their 2010 unbeaten run.
Grosvenor told the Express he is not going to change too much. He will stick to the formula that has brought his team their success so far this season: their camaraderie, fitness and enjoyment of the game.
Without their captain Ceballo, who has also scored crucial goals this season, St Anthony's will face a tough Tobago test. But Grosvenor sees no reason to worry.
"We don't know Signal Hill, we don't know what they're like," Grosvenor said. "We understand that they are big and strong. We're just going to play how we have been playing, and we'll try and put a lot of passion into the game."
Grosvenor insists the show will go on without his senior players, and his team "will not give up". They will continue with their free-flowing, attacking style.
"Sometimes the best form of defence is in attack. We have to put them on the back foot, and that's the plan. We're going to play attacking football and see what happens."
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