SSFL 24: Stapleton scores then sent off, as Arima North hold off ‘Saints’ in tense affair

Arima North Secondary striker Tyrell Stapleton went from hero to villain at the Arima Velodrome this evening but his team did enough to get the better of St Mary’s College 2-0 in their Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Premier Division encounter.

Stapleton broke the deadlock for Arima in the 31st minute with a well-placed left-footed shot to the left of St Mary’s goalkeeper Josiah Superville, after a good build-up down the left flank between Darren De Four and Keston Richards.

Jaquan Aguilleria doubled Arima’s lead in the 44th, when he headed home Richards’ chipped cross from the left—despite Superville getting a hand on the ball

There was a change of referees during the halftime interval, as fourth official Keshon Charles swapped places with referee Colin Smith, who sustained a muscle injury.

And Charles, in consultation with Smith and assistant referee Johanitan John, made another notable switch from a yellow card to a red, in the 62nd minute, after Stapleton appeared to retaliate with an elbow to the chest of St Mary’s utility player Jelani Ottley—after the latter player dragged him to the floor.

The result saw the Dial Dynamos climb one place to fourth in the standings while St Mary’s College stayed tenth.

St Benedict’s College remained top of the 16-team standings although their 10-game win-streak ended today, courtesy of a 1-1 draw against Signal Hill Secondary at the Mahaica Sporting Complex.

Second placed Presentation College (San Fernando), who still have a game in hand, closed the gap with Benedict’s to four points after they defeated San Juan North Secondary 2-0 at Bourg Mulatresse.

At the other end of the table, Miracle Ministries Pentecostal High School moved off cellar position courtesy of a 3-2 win over Malick Secondary. East Mucurapo Secondary, who were spanked 5-1 by third placed Fatima College, fell to the foot of the standings.

Newly promoted St Augustine Secondary produced the eyebrow-raising performance of the round as they downed Naparima College 3-1 on Warren Street, St Augustine.

Arima and St Benedict’s entered Match Day 12 as the only unbeaten teams left in the Premier Division. While it is apparent that Arima do not have any player of the calibre of the in-form St Benedict’s skipper Derrel “Zoom Zoom” Garcia, they had enough to overcome a combative but overmatched Saints outfit.

St Mary’s are the only team thus far to make a coaching change since the 2024 season began a month and a half ago, with former Soca Warriors striker Cornell Glen replacing veteran Michael Grayson.

Glen’s tactical formation of 5-4-1 suggested that he is still getting used to his players. He set up his squad, at least in the first half, to contain.

However, his captain and striker, Kyle Phillip, had nothing to work with, as Arima controlled proceedings from the onset.

Defensive midfielder Criston Gomez sounded a warning to the Saints defence with a low long-range shot, forcing a good save from Superville, after 19 minutes.

Twelve minutes later, Arima went ahead after Richards (who was a constant threat on the left flank) collected a pass from De Four and, with acres of space, picked out Stapleton, who finished from close range.

Gomez again showed his ability from distance with a right-footed shot that narrowly missed the mark, with Superville unmoved.

Shortly afterwards, Arima made it 2-0 with Richards getting a return ball from Gomez—following a freekick on the left—and racing to the byline.

St Mary’s right-back Isaiah Morris found Richards too hot to handle, and the winger’s aerial ball was met by the head of defender Aguilleria (who stayed up from a corner). Aguilleria, in turn, saw his header parried into the back of the net by the St Mary’s goalie.

Glen made a few tactical changes at the start of the second half. Ottley, part of the five-man defence, was pushed up to central midfield, with halftime substitute Darius Humphrey replacing fellow midfielder Alejandro Harper.

Nadeem Grant, who entered the game at halftime (replacing the lacklustre Elijah Wong) was slotted on the left flank while Eran McLeod was moved to the right-wing position.

St Mary’s could have reduced the deficit mere minutes into the second half after Arima keeper, Jadon-Paul Alexander, spilled a low cross from Phillip, but the goalie made amends seconds later to block the rebound effort from Grant.

Tensions started to rise as St Mary’s pressed for an equaliser. The situation reached fever pitch in the 62nd minute, as Stapleton was sent off and Ottley and centre-back Joshua Chalerie received yellow cards.

St Mary’s seemed to run out of ideas, as the Wayne Sheppard-coached Arima held firm until the final whistle.

“[In] the first half, we had control of the game,” said Sheppard. “We scored off two plays that we planned on, in terms of how we executed [them]. We were in control of the game.

“[…] Young people […] have this tendency to feel that the game is over before it’s over. It’s a lack of respect for their opponents, and they exhibited that [during the] second half. We went [back] out there like we won the game already.

“Then we got a red card, and the game became difficult.”

Sheppard was unimpressed with the officiating.

“This is the premier youth league in the country, and yet we’re bringing officials who are [not up to the elite level] to do the games,” said the Arima North coach. “People are afraid to talk because they’re frightened to get sanctioned.

“I am at the point where I have to balance what I say against the fact that I am in charge of these youngsters’ safety. I can’t go to a parent to tell [them] sorry.”

Sheppard was fortunate to escape being booked after he went onto the field during the drinks break after Stapleton was sent off.

“My player responded,” he said. “Apparently, it has a rule where retaliation is an immediate red card, and the original offender gets nothing.

“My player is wrong—I spoke to [him]. But at the same point in time, there were things going on off the ball all the time, and the officials are not doing anything.”

Glen opted not to speak on the contentious moments.

“That is football and we move on from that,” he said.

The St Mary’s coach did share his frustration with the league scheduling, as Arima North’s midweek game against Signal Hill Secondary was postponed—thus giving the eastern school a few days of extra rest.

“We were a bit leggy in the first half because we played on Wednesday [so] we only had two days’ rest,” said Glen. “Arima had a full week’s rest, so, in the first half, [my players were] complaining of being tired.

“We made some changes, and the young bunch of guys fought themselves back into the game.”

Glen conceded that St Mary’s were unable to take advantage of their numerical advantage after Stapleton’s red card.

“Offensively, I think we should have done better,” he said. “We lacked quality in attack. But the average age of the squad is 14 or 15. We have a couple of guys who are 17.

“It’s a young squad so you can’t ask them for more. They’re playing a bunch of older guys and I think they’ve done a fantastic job.”

The average age of the St Mary’s College starting team today was 16.6. The average age of the Arima North team is 16.45, which meant that the victors were actually the younger team.

But with St Mary’s well on their way to safety and Arima North still unbeaten, there was arguably plenty to console both outfits.

Teams

Arima North Secondary (3-4-3): 1.Jadon-Paul Alexander (GK); 6.Stephen Ollivierie, 16.Ability Hazel (captain), 20.Jaquan Aguilleria; 8.Jahmarley Caleb, 19.Hasheem Hill, 3.Criston Gomez, 10.Darren De Four; 17.Cristiano Hinds (22.Kafense McKell 81), 9.Tyrell Stapleton, 15.Keston Richards.

Unused substitutes: 31.Micaiah Thomas (GK), 4.Garrick Thomas, 7.Dimitre Jones, 13.Naeem Crichlow, 14.Jeremiah Charles, 18.Zion Metivier, 24.Ky-Mani Moore, 25.Essien Thomas.

Coach: Wayne Sheppard

St Mary’s College (5-4-1): 88.Josiah Superville (GK); 19.Isaiah Morris, 4.Kristian James (15.Raheim London 67), 23.Joshua Charlerie, 21.Jelani Ottley (2.Ihsan Miller 79), 5.Jaylon Roberts; 14.Elijah Wong (11.Nadeem Grant 46), 9.Deron Blackman, 8.Alejandro Harper (6.Darius Humphrey 46), 18.Eran McLeod; 10.Kyle Phillip (captain).

Unused substitutes: 1.Estefan Gift (GK), 3.Jeremiah Steele, 7.Jaylon Manswell, 17.El Valdo Garcia.

Coach: Cornell Glen

Referee: Colin Smith (replaced by Keshon Charles at halftime)

SSFL Premier Division results

(Sat 19 Oct)

Arima North Secondary 2 (Tyrell Stapleton 31, Jaquan Aguilleria 44), St Mary’s College 0 at Arima Velodrome;

Fatima College 5 (Liam Gooding 41, Michael Chaves 43, Seth Hadeed 64, Josiah Gobin 74, Joziah Contant-Shing Hon 86), East Mucurapo Secondary 1 (Keysan Haynes) at Mucurapo Road;

St Benedict’s College 1 (Derrel Garcia 55), Signal Hill Secondary 1 (Kyle James 70) at Mahaica Sporting Complex;

Miracle Ministries PHS 3 (Keon Codrington [2], Kyle Holder), Malick Secondary 2 (Jordan Ferdinand, Anest Da Silva) at Edinburgh 500;

Queen’s Royal College 4 (Phillip Nelson 18, 54, Jasai Theophilus 31, Stephon James 90+2), Trinity College East 1 (Khaleem Prince 13) at QRC;

San Juan North 0, Presentation (San F’do) 2 (Vaughn Clement 58, 89) at Bourg Mulatresse;

Speyside High 0, St Anthony’s College 1 (Jaeden Bobb 16) at Speyside;

St Augustine Secondary 3 (Elijah Baptiste 16, Giovanni Hospedales 53, Shumba Cudjoe 90+1), Naparima College 1 (Kereem Alexander 25) at Warren Street.

Upcoming fixtures

(Wed 23 Oct)

Presentation (San F’do) v St Benedict’s College, 3.30pm, Mannie Ramjohn Stadium;

San Juan North v Speyside High, 3.30pm, Bourg Mulatresse;

East Mucurapo Secondary v Arima North Secondary, 3.30pm, Mucurapo Road;

Malick Secondary v St Anthony’s College, 3.30pm, TBA;

Miracle Ministries PHS v St Augustine Secondary, 3.30pm, Edinburgh 500;

Queen’s Royal College v Fatima College, 3.30pm, QRC;

Signal Hill Secondary v Naparima College, 3.30pm, Signal Hill;

St Mary’s College v Trinity College East, 3.30pm, Serpentine Road.