Fatima College’s unbeaten streak in the Premier Division of the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) was snapped by a pack of vicious tigers—St. Anthony’s College at Westmoorings, on Wednesday.
Goals on each side of the half by Jean-Marc Thomas and Andell Fraser were enough to earn the Tigers maximum points, despite a cheeky goal from Jahaem Bailey in the 68th minute.
With two wins and as many losses to their name, the Tigers, playing at home, absorbed early Fatima attacks before their blood scent kicked in.
A perfect display of counter-attacking football as the Tigers transferred from defence to attack with a long ball that set Thomas on a one-on-one with goalkeeper Shameal O’Brien in the Fatima goal.
However, a possible trip on defender Liam Gooding in the 23rd minute troubled the visitors, though the referee waved play on. Thomas then lifted the ball over the advancing custodian for a 1-0 advantage.
It was not the start that the Fatima men were hoping for, though both the referee and his assistant met briefly and agreed there was no infringement.
The goal lifted St. Anthony’s spirit and confidence thereafter, causing them to mount numerous attacks on the Fatima goal area.
And in the 27th minute, it was only the acrobatic brilliance of goalkeeper O’Brien that prevented a curling attempt from Fraser from going two goals up.
It tilted the game in favour of the home team, who enjoyed the position of ascendency in possession. However, as the game approached the halfway interval, Fatima nearly squeezed in the equaliser courtesy of their trademark buildup down the right flank that ended at the feet of that Savio Yearwood inside the penalty area.
Still, with the goal at his mercy, he hit the ball wide of the goalpost, taking the teams to the half with the home team ahead 1-0.
The Tigers goalie Josiah Morris held on to a snap-shot from Caden Trestrail to preserve their advantage soon after the break, but his opposite number could not follow him in the 66th minute.
This time it was Fraser who was picked out with a ball that was served to him from deep in his defensive backline. And instead of running at the defenders, Fraser, in only his first match for the Tigers, curled the ball high into the roof of the net for a 2-0 margin.
Two minutes later, though, the visitors got a consolation item. Michael Chaves, the 2023 player of the year, served to an unmarked Josiah Gobin on the left side of St. Anthony’s defence to quickly centre for Bailey to cheekily back-heel the ball into an open goal for a 2-1 margin.
Fatima came close to the equaliser a second time, courtesy of a Levi Smith right side cross, which Chaves connected with, but goalkeeper Morris tipped it over to assure his team the victory.
Despite the loss, however, Fatima still maintained the top spot in the standings with a better goal difference to St. Benedict’s College, who defeated San Juan North 1-0.
Meanwhile, in Tobago, referee Keon Yorke prevented the much-awaited Tobago Derby between Speyside and Signal Hill at the Speyside Recreation Ground from playing.
Coach Kerry Lynch said Yorke arrived for the match approximately an hour early but was enraged when his assistants Geddes John and Ashford Benjamin arrived 10 minutes before the start of the game. According to Lynch, with both teams already inspected and the game ready for kickoff, Yorke walked off the field after appearing to be unhappy after a brief conversation with his assistants.
RESULTS
East Mucurapo 2 (Kadeem Morrison, Makai Simmons) vs Trinity College 1 (Dexter Croal)
Naps 6 (J Rodriguez 2, Xarion France, M Clement, I Joseph, J Cooper) vs Miracle Ministries 0
Presentation 0 vs Arima North 0
QRC 2 (Stephon James, Jasai Theophilus) vs Malick 0
Speyside vs Signal Hill (Game didn’t play- referee leaves field)
St Anthony’s 2 (Jean-Mark Thomas 23rd, Andell Fraser 66th) vs Fatima 1 (Jaheam Bailey 77th)
St Benedict’s 1 vs San Juan 0
CIC 2 (Joshua Charlerie, Kyle Phillip) vs St Augustine 0
LATEST STANDINGS
Pos*Teams*P*W*D*L*F*A*Pts
1*Fatima*7*5*1*1*19*4*16
2*St Benedict’s*6*5*1*0*9*3*16
3*Presentation*6*4*1*1*10*3*13
4*Naparima*6*3*2*1*13*5*11
5*Arima North*7*2*5*0*10*3*11
6*QRC*7*3*1*3*9*7*10
7*St Anthony’s*5*3*0*2*11*6*9
8*San Juan North*7*3*0*4*11*11*9
9*Malick*7*2*2*3*13*13*8
10*Signal Hill*6*2*2*2*13*14*8
11*St Mary’s*7*2*1*4*7*16*7
12*East Mucurapo*6*2*0*4*5*8*6
13*Trinity East*7*2*0*5*12*15*6
14* Speyside*4*1*1*2*7*9*4
15* St Augustine*5*1*1*3*4*11*4
16*Miracle Ministries*7*1*0*6*2*26*3
