Extra Spicey! QRC sink to bottom of SSFL standings after 3-1 loss to rivals St Mary’s College

St Mary’s College recovered from an early goal to swat arch-rivals Queen’s Royal College aside 3-1 in SSFL Premier Division action at the latter’s Maraval Road ground this afternoon.

Long gone are the days when the “Saints” versus QRC clash was a rivalry fuelled by title ambitions. Nowadays, it is often a battle fought at the other end of the table. Today was no different and CIC head coach Ryan Shim was relieved to get the three points and separate himself from the relegation-threatened pack.

“I’m feeling great,” Shim told Wired868, after helping the Saints climb two places to seventh. “I was watching the other teams and their match-ups, so I thought today, once we got that victory, we would be able to pull away from a couple of them.

“We needed to get away from that drop zone so the team could relax.”

Elsewhere in the Premier Division, the ‘Big Four’ teams all won with the result that, with five league matches remaining in the season, the title still remains up for grabs.

Leaders Presentation College (San Fernando) won 3-1 on the road against Trinity College Moka to move to 25 points from 10 matches while Naparima College stayed within two points of the leaders with a 2-1 win over Carapichaima East Secondary at Lewis Street in San Fernando.

St Anthony’s College edged Fatima College 2-1 on Mucurapo Road to stay third although, with 21 points, they will need a stumble from the ‘Pres Lions’ to be in contention.

And defending champions Shiva Boys Hindu College shook off a two-match winless run to outgun St Augustine Secondary in a 4-3 shoot-out. Fourth-placed Shiva Boys and sixth-placed St Augustine have 20 and 16 points respectively—but the “Green Machine” have a game in hand.

San Juan North Secondary, the Premier Division’s only unbeaten team this season, climbed to fifth after a goal from skipper Renaldo Boyce helped them to a 1-0 win over Trinity College East at Bourg Mulatresse.

San Juan North Secondary, the Premier Division’s only unbeaten team this season, climbed to fifth after a goal from skipper Renaldo Boyce helped them to a 1-0 win over Trinity College East at Bourg Mulatresse.

At QRC ground, St Mary’s were all smiles at the final whistle but Shim would have certainly hoped for a better start.

In an opening where his team had marginally the better of the play, a bit of comedic goalkeeping gifted the Royalians their lead in the 34th minute.

QRC stand-in captain, John-Paul Rochford, hit a speculative drive from distance that Saints custodian Regaleo Holder saved low to his right only for the ball to bobble out of his grasp.

In a panic, Holder scooped the ball backwards towards his own goal and even if QRC midfielder Miguel Williams had not been well placed to gleefully poke the ball over the line, it would still have registered as the opening goal.

However, just before the stroke of half-time, the Saints equalised with a goal made more out of class than fortune.

Devon Charles curled a brilliant free kick over the wall and into the corner of the goal to leave returning QRC goalkeeper Jacques Poon-Lewis without a prayer and the two teams at level pegging at the interval.

At QRC ground, St Mary’s were all smiles at the final whistle but Shim would certainly have hoped for a better start.

In an opening where his team had marginally the better of the play—even forcing returning QRC goalkeeper Jacques Poon Lewis into a sharp save off of a La Motte free kick—a bit of comedic goalkeeping gifted the Royalians their lead in the 34th minute.

QRC stand-in captain John-Paul Rochford lined up a free kick of his own 40 yards from goal. His run-up was direct and focused before he hammered a shot that forced Saints custodian Regaleo Holder into a smart save to his right.

He then followed it up with an even better save off Miguel Williams who tried to tap in the rebound.

Then, in a flash, Holder shifted roles from hero to villain. Rochford hit a speculative drive from distance after a poor clearance that the goalkeeper saved low to his right only for the ball to bobble out of his grasp.

In a panic, Holder scooped the ball backwards towards his own goal and, even if QRC midfielder Miguel Williams had not been well placed to gleefully poke the ball over the line, it would still have registered as the opening goal.

However, just before the stroke of half-time, the Saints equalised with a goal which, unlike the Royalian effort, was fashioned out of class rather than good fortune.

Captain Gabriel Nanton went for one of his trademark mazy runs but was felled at the top of the box near the left-side L.

Duly accepting responsibility, Devon Charles stepped up. Taking his time to assess the situation, the Saints attacker curled a brilliant right-footed free kick over the wall away from Poon Lewis and into the top right-hand corner of the goal, leaving the QRC custodian without a prayer. That meant level pegging at the interval.

In the second half, the trio of Saints midfield conductors took charge and it didn’t take them long to wrest a lead from their hosts.

Interchanging at will, the midfield trio of Nanton, Michel Poon-Angeron and Justin Keith were enjoying a majority of the possession and putting it to good use. Poon-Angeron led a quick counter-attack down the left side before freeing the dangerous Tyrese Spicer down the flank. In an instant, the peerless CIC attacker unleashed a laser past the once more prayer-less Royalian Poon-Lewis into the top far corner. St Mary’s now deservedly in the lead.

With captain Anfernee Stokes absent through injury, not just the leadership mantle but the responsibility for everything seemed to have passed to skilful former National Under-17 midfielder Rochford. The result was that, in the second half in particular, the Royalian effort was at best patchy as the captain lacked the support of his teammates and looked visibly more and more tired as the half wore on in the scorching heat.

It did not help that, in the 69th minute, unlucky QRC schoolboy Jabari McKell had put the ball into his own net following a Poon-Angeron corner. Done and dusted at 3-1.

At the final whistle, the dejected QRC players fell to their knees, sensing perhaps that they had slipped to the bottom of the standings. It had not been their day and has not arguably been their season either.

Head coach Nigel Grosvenor was still in a positive mood, though, after the game.

“I still having my beliefs and I putting that to the team,” a defiant Grosvenor told Wired868. “Still going to keep positive.”

“We played against St Anthony’s and drew with St Anthony’s,” he explained. “We drew with San Juan, we had Pres 1-0 down to the end, but we have to be consistent with our performances.

“The main thing is to just survive. Win two or three games and hopefully things will happen from there.”

For a team with only five points from 10 games and just one victory so far to expect to win three of its last five is, putting it kindly, optimistic. So at the grand old college that sits under the shadow of a huge clock, time is ticking on the relegation threat which is daily becoming more of a reality.

To make Maraval Road matters worse, the end of the day’s SSFL proceedings confirmed that the sorry Royalians had sunk to rock bottom of the standings after Speyside High shocked St Benedict’s College 1-0.

(Teams)

QRC (4-4-1-1): 1.Jacques Poon Lewis; 6.Rawle Felix, 7.Darian Bradshaw, 20.Malik Ferrier, 12.Jabari Mckell; 2.Ronaldo Mullins (23.Claxton Donnell), 14.Marc Robinson (3.Darlon Guppy), 15.John-Paul Rochford, 16.Naeem Bisnath (4.Randy Harris), 9.Miguel Williams; 5.Kalev Kiel.

Unused Substitutes: 22.Jumaane McNeil, 13.Rickson Hill, 17.Marquis Lewis, 10.Darius Dickson.

Coach: Nigel Grosvenor

St Mary’s College (4-2-3-1): 30.Regaleo Holder; 20.Nathaniel Williams (7.Terran Winner), 8.Matthaeus Granger, 4.Schileon Phillip, 22.Augustine Nkemakolam; 6.Justin Keith, 11.Gabriel Nanton; 27.Devon Charles,10.Michel Poon-Angeron, 16.Tyrese Spicer (9.Justin Mohammed); 19.Trey La Motte (12.Kevon Alonzo).

Unused Substitutes: 1.Jordan Bidaisee, 21.Justin Gibbon, 18.Kyle Carrington, 14.Elijah Bain Hares.

Coach: Ryan Shim

Man of the Match: Michel Poon-Angeron (St Mary’s College)

SSFL results

(Wednesday 11 October)

Fyzabad Secondary 0, Signal Hill 0 at Fyzabad;

Naparima College 2 (Ronaldo McIntosh 53, 57), Carapichaima East 1 (Theophilus Bourne 8) at Lewis Street;

Fatima College 1 (Andrew-Peter Abraham 47), St Anthony’s College 2 (Haile Beckles 29, 69) at Fatima;

Shiva Boys HC 4 (Jude Phillip 24, 35, Ronaldo Edwards 58, Tyrell Baptiste 90), St Augustine Secondary 3 (Allan Hogan 45, Kendell Hitlal 68, Zion Holder 82) at Morne Diablo recreation ground;

Trinity College Moka 1 (Kai Phillip 1), Presentation College 3 (Jaiye Sheppard 4, Matthew Joseph 55, Nathaniel Dyer 57) at Moka;

QRC 1 (Miguel Williams 34), St Mary’s College 3 (Devon Charles 45, Trevor Spicer 51, Jabari McKell OG 69) at QRC;

San Juan North 1 (Renaldo Boyce 20), Trinity College East 0 at San Juan;

Speyside High 1 (Kern McDonald), St Benedict’s College 0 at Speyside;

SSFL Premier Division Standings

(Played-Won-Drew-Lost-Goals For-Goals Against-Points)

1. Presentation        10-8-1-1-25-10-25
2. Naparima             10-7-2-1-22-11-23
3. St Anthony’s        10-6-3-1-33-15-21
4. Shiva Boys HC    10-6-2-2-25-13-20
5. San Juan N          10-4-6-0-23-9-18
6. St Augustine        9-5-1-3-23-17-16
7. St Mary’s              9-4-2-3-22-17-14
8. Trinity East           9-4-1-4-15-10-13
9. Fatima                  9-4-0-5-8-13-12
10. Carapichaima E  10-3-2-5-15-18-11
11. Fyzabad Sec        9-3-1-5-10-16-10
12. St Benedict’s       10-2-3-5-14-19-9
13. Signal Hill            10-2-2-6-7-15-8
14. Trinity Moka         9-2-0-7-9-27-6
15. Speyside High    10-2-0-8-5–33–6
16. QRC                    10-1-2-7-11-24-5