St Augustine, the East Zone champion, will contest the final of the Big Five in the BG T&T Secondary Schools Football League. The "Green Machine" reached the landmark yesterday by defeating North Zone winner, St Mary's with two second half goals at Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar. After a goalless first half in which "Gustine" dominated, Ishmael Clement netted the opening goal three minutes after the break in a goal mouth melee. In the 80th minute, Verdel Ramirez, after missing an easy one-on-one with goalkeeper Raheem Belgrave, capitalised on an error by the CIC custodian, who missed a cross, and he slotted home.
Just before the goal, a penalty was muffed by Isiah Mejias, after 'keeper Belgrave was pulled up for flooring key striker Jervaughn Vance in the area. "I have a lot of confidence in my players," said assistant coach Trevor Elcock. "The guys will obviously have a nice sprint going into the final. We could go all the way." St Augustine had the better of the exchanges in the first session, living in the CIC half for long periods. Best chance in that period came when a ball played across the face of the goal was missed by both "Green Machine" attackers, Mikkel Collymore and Clement. "We took too long to get settled and a few key players did not perform to the best of their ability," said losing coach Jason Edwards.
"Overall, St Augustine really played well. There were a few refereeing decisions that were odd. For example, when he awarded a penalty to Gustine when our 'keeper clearly won the ball. "I am not going to make any excuses. St Augustine played better than us and deserved to win." Last season's Central Zone giant-killer, Carapichaima, under coach Lawrence Rondon, and Presentation, coached by Shaun Cooper, will meet in the other semifinal today at Mannie Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella, from 3.30 pm. Caps advanced by beating Mason Hal, the Tobago Zone winner, 2-0 on Monday at Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago. Newly-crowned South Zone champion, Presentation, which last won the zonal league 23 years ago, will be no easy pushover, as it had an outstanding run prior to the national tournament. Both Caps and Pres will be at each others throat to decide the team to play Gustine in the final on Tuesday at a venue to be announced.
Results
ST AUGUSTINE 2 (Ishmael Clement 48th; Verdel Ramirez 80th) vs ST MARY'S 0.
Today's semifinal
CAPARICHAIMA vs PRESENTATION, Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, 3.30 pm.