“That loss to Trinity College East woke us up.”
These were the words of Malick Secondary coach Anthony Bartholomew, as he sent a stern warning to his opponent St Benedict’s College ahead of Saturday’s (September 27) crucial clash between second and fifth on the standings in the Premier Division of the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) at St Mary’s College Ground in Port-of-Spain.
Malick entered that match in the third position, seemingly overconfident and unaware of the challenges before them. However, Bartholomew, though disappointed by the 3-2 loss at the Arima Velodrome on Wednesday, said: “It made us know where we are.”
The school, dominant in the North Zone in the 1990s, appears to have returned to the Malick of old with a team considered strong in all departments of the game, both Bartholomew and St Benedict’s coach Randolph Boyce said yesterday.
“The players were overconfident but tomorrow (today) we will be ready and confident against St Benedict’s. I think player-for-player we have more energy, more skill and will be able to outdo our opponents tomorrow (today), but then again, the game is played on the day,” Bartholomew explained.
His team is now fifth in the standings after Wednesday’s loss with eight points from five matches. They have lost just once in those matches but will face a team without a loss to date.
Boyce, who also coaches the country’s Under-20 team, described the Northerners as a very strong team which has shown it by the way they play, coupled with their position on the standings.
“They stumbled a bit lately but generally they have a very good team this year. I think their loss to Trinity was a result of a couple defensive blunders, as well as them taking the East men for granted. They are strong in all departments of the game, and I can only see their wings as their most vulnerable area.”
He jokingly said if only they would have a slip-up against his team today it would be good.
St Benedict’s, like most of the other teams had to undergo a transition period by which they were not severely hard-hit by, due to an ongoing development programme.
“St Benedict’s strength has always been discipline, teamwork, and the desire by each player to work for each other. This is what we are going to head into tomorrow’s (today’s) match with and hopefully, it would bring us the right result,” Boyce said.
SATURDAY’S MATCHES
Arima North vs QRC, Arima Velodrome, 4 pm
East Mucurapo vs Presentation, QRC Grd, 4 pm
Fatima College vs CIC, Fatima Grd, 4 pm
San Juan North vs Miracle Ministries, San Juan, 3.30 pm
Speyside vs Trinity College East, Speyside, 4 pm
St Augustine vs Signal Hill, St Augustine, 4 pm
STANDINGS
PL*Teams*P*W*D*L*F*A*Pts
1*Fatima*5*4*1*0*16*2*13
2*St Benedict’s*4*3*1*0*6*2*10
3*Arima North*5*2*3*0*10*3*9
4*Presentation*4*3*0*1*9*3*9
5*Malick*5*2*2*1*12*9*8
6*Naparima*5*2*2*1*7*5*8
7*Signal Hill*5*2*1*2*10*11*7
8*St Anthony’s*4*2*0*2*9*5*6
9*QRC*5*2*0*3*7*7*6
10*Trinity East*5*2*0*3*10*11*6
11*San Juan North*5*2*0*3*8*10*6
12*St Mary’s*5*1*1*3*5*14*4
13*St Augustine*3*1*0*2*1*6*3
14*Miracle Ministries*5*1*0*4*2*17*3
15*East Mucurapo*4*1*0*3*3*6*3
16*Speyside*3*0*1*2*5*8*1
