Santa Rosa school Petrotrin to maintain four-point Premiership lead, Siparia give Bethel hell

Sports and Games FC Santa Rosa maintained their four point lead atop the National Super League (NSL) Premiership Division with a punishing 5-1 victory over fourth place Petrotrin Palo Seco at the Marvin Lee Stadium yesterday evening.

The “Big Cannons” of Santa Rosa finished sixth in the Premiership Division last season, but this season the Keith Look Loy-coached team seem to be aspiring to much loftier heights. Although 2015/16 Premiership winners Defence Force have made a steady climb up the table in the past few weeks, Santa Rosa are the team to beat thus far.

There was no stopping the “Rosa Nation” in Macoya yesterday, and they effectively nullified the game with a deadly eight-minute burst inside the first half hour.

Keron Clarke opened the scoring in the 17th minute, before Sheldon Nesbitt and Keston Henry added goals in the 20th and 25th minutes respectively. Petrotrin, who were coming off a 3-nil home defeat to Police FC, found the going even more difficult on the artificial Marvin Lee surface.

Clarke and Henry both bragged braces within 10 minutes of the second half resumption as the home team fattened their ‘goals for’ column. However, the Big Cannons did offer something to their guests, as they gave up an own goal just before the hour mark to put Petrotrin on the board.

With eight goals conceded in their last two matches, the “Oil Boys” will hope for a rapid change of fortune when they entertain seventh-placed Siparia Spurs at the Palo Seco Velodrome on Sunday. But if Siparia’s recent form is an indication to go by, then the upcoming weather forecast could be a bit bleak for Petrotrin.

Siparia are unbeaten in their last four Premiership fixtures, and yesterday they absolutely wiped the floor with the visiting Bethel United as they stormed away from Irwin Park with a gigantic 9-1 victory. Andy London helped himself to a hat-trick, which took his league tally to 14, while Marcus Kelly also bagged a late second half double.

Akeil Pope popped up with the consolation item for the Tobagonians, and he and his teammates may need ‘bush baths’ before their next outing against the feisty Guaya United outfit.

Guaya’s “Green Army” arguably have the bigger fan base in local football and they may be seeking revenge after they were beaten 3-1 by Bethel’s Tobago colleagues, 1976 FC Phoenix, yesterday.

Guaya’s Jody Allsop conjured up an equalizer just before the hour mark, but late goals by Phoenix’s LeJandro Williams and David Dominic McDougall at the Canaan Recreation Ground saw the Green Army leave the “Sister Isle” as a defeated battalion.

Meanwhile, Club Sando Moruga consolidated their second spot on the standings with a 4-1 win over cellar-placed Marabella Family Crisis Centre at Guaracara Park yesterday. Nigel John grabbed his 11th and 12th goals of the season with a double on either side of halftime, while second half goals by Akeil London and Jesse Edwards added some gloss to the scoreline.

Kevin Moodie registered the lone goal for the struggling hosts.

Things could go from bad to worse pretty quickly for the Marabella team as they next face a resurgent Defence Force team, which is unbeaten in their last eight league fixtures. The defending Premiership champions have a certain Josimar Belgrave in their ranks too, and yesterday the veteran striker took his league tally to 19 goals with an item against Real Maracas.

If you did not catch the first half hour of Army’s clash with Real Maracas yesterday, then you really missed all the action. All of the game’s five goals were scored within a 20-minute stretch in the first half, as the two teams traded jab after jab at the Maracas Valley Recreation Ground. And despite goals by headline offseason acquisitions Marvin Oliver and Ryan “Fry” Stewart, Maracas were eventually put down for the count by the second of Aaron Lester’s first half goals.

Although they are five points off Santa Rosa, who sit on 34 points, one cannot write off the defending Premiership champs just yet.

Last season’s Championship winners Queen’s Park Cricket Club (QPCC) continue to find the going tough in the upper tier, as they were denied a vital victory by a 90th minute strike from Matura ReUnited’s Kerin Vincent. QPCC initially took a two-goal lead through attacker Jared Bennett but a Keston James strike and Vincent’s late equaliser—his 15th league goal this season—ensured that the game finished on level-pegging.

Elsewhere, the mid-table clash between Police FC and WASA FC did not play due to a waterlogged outfield at the St James Barracks.

NSL Championship Division Results

(Saturday 1 October)

UTT 1 (Dillon Bartholomew 73), Prisons 1 (Kerry Frederick 90), UTT;

Barrackpore United SC 2 (Curtis Carrington 13, 90), Carenage United 1 (Clint Williams 88), Barrackpore Recreation Ground;

Cunupia FC 6 (Dillon Jaggassar 19, Jonathan Marcelle 23, Stevon Stoute 42, 79, Gorean Highley 83, Michael Yaw Darko 90), Saddle Hill Hotspur 2 (Cyrano Glen 2, Kevon Durham 64), Ato Boldon Stadium;

Central 500 Spartans 4 (Clavi Grazette 2, Donovam Derrick 31, Keith Williams 35, Josiah Grazette 50), Petit Valley/Diego Martin FC 4 (Eric Charles 7, 58, Anthony Joseph 52, Curtis Smith 78), Hugo Francis Recreation Ground;

Youth Stars were on a Bye

NSL Premiership Division Results

(Sunday 2 October)

Real Maracas FC 2 (Marvin Oliver 13, Ryan Stewart 29), Defence Force 3 (Aaron Lester 9, 27, Josimar Belgrave 16), Maracas Valley Rd Recreation Ground;

Marabella Family Crisis Centre 1 (Kevin Moodie 63), Club Sando Moruga 4 (Nigel John 43, 79, Akeil London 54, Jesse Edwards 85), Guaracara Park;

QPCC 2 (Jared Bennett 6, 63), Matura ReUnited 2 (Keston Jones 71, Kerin Vincent 90);

1976 FC Phoenix 3 (Nigel Thomas 49, LeJandro Williams 86, David Dominic McDougall 90), Guaya United 1 (Jody Allsop 58), Canaan Recreation Ground;

S&G FC Santa Rosa 5 (Keron Clarke 17, 48, Sheldon Nesbitt 20, Keston Henry 25, 53), Petrotrin Palo Seco 1 (Own Goal 57), Marvin Lee Stadium;

Siparia Spurs 9 (Daniel Garcia 25, Shavon Frederick 31, Andy London 39, 64, 90, Marcus Kelly 77, 82, Darius Peters 80), Bethel United 1 (Akeil Pope 88), Irwin Park, Siparia;

Police FC v WASA FC did not play due to a waterlogged outfield at the St James Barracks.

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Roneil Walcott

Roneil Walcott is an avid sports fan and freelance reporter with a BA in Mass Communication from COSTAATT. Roneil is a former Harvard and St Mary’s College cricketer who once had lofty aspirations of bringing joy to sport fans with the West Indies team. Now, his mission is to keep them on the edge of their seats with sharp commentary from off the playing field.