SSFL 23: Sween nets treble as leaders San Juan hit Bishop’s for six

Gifted attacker Lindell Sween netted a treble to guide leaders San Juan North Secondary to a 6-0 thrashing of Bishop’s High School yesterday, in an eighth round fixture of the 2023 Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Premier Division.

Sween got his name on the scoresheet in the 45th, 83rd and 85th minutes. The other goal-getters for San Juan North, on their home ground in Bourg Mulatresse, were Jaheem Danclar (39th), Nathan Quashie (48th) and Jadiel Joseph (90th).

The result kept San Juan North two points clear of second placed Fatima College, as all of the top four teams were victorious this weekend.

Fatima spanked lowly Chaguanas North Secondary 4-1 while third placed Naparima College edged Trinity College East 2-1 fourth placed Presentation College (San Fernando) defeated Queen’s Royal College (QRC) 2-0.

San Juan have amassed 21 points, while Fatima, Naparima and Presentation fourth have 19, 18 and 17 points respectively.

Defending champions St Benedict’s College spanked Speyside High Secondary 5-0 at Mahaica Oval while Arima North Secondary got past Pleasantville Secondary 1-0, Malick Secondary whipped St Mary’s College 5-2, and St Anthony’s College took care of East Mucurapo Secondary by a 2-0 margin.

At Bourg Mulatresse, Danclar was noticeably relieved when he broke the deadlock after 39 minutes.

Joseph evaded his marker, Bishop’s High skipper Kerron Arthur, on the right and picked out Danclar, who was free as a bird in the penalty box. The striker directed a left-footed shot into the back of the net, via the left-hand of goalkeeper Kristeon McEachnie.

Sween got into the thick of things on the stroke of halftime, as he benefitted from a poor clearance by the Bishop’s defence and fired a left-footed shot beyond McEachnie’s reach.

Midfielder Nathan Quashie, who supplied the pass for Sween’s opening goal, made it 3-0 in the 48th minute, as he clinically curled a 25 metre freekick into the top right-hand corner.

It seemed as if San Juan were content to let the match drift until the final whistle, as they focused on maintaining possession and keeping Bishop’s High at arm’s length.

However, the home team pounced on their tiring opponents in the last 12 minutes of the match to net three more goals—all left-footed strikes to McEachnie’s left.

Danclar and substitute right-back Michel Baptiste exchanged passes during a counter-attack before Danclar teed up Sween, who capitalised on a slip by defender Brendon Allum to place his shot into the bottom left-hand corner in the 83rd minute.

Two minutes later, Sween completed his treble off another Danclar pass, with a shot that brushed McEachnie’s fingertips.

Quashie, one of San Juan’s two outstanding performers on the day along with Sween, picked out Joseph on the left, and the winger banged home the final goal in the second of the five minutes allocated for stoppage time.

“I think it was a game of two halves,” said San Juan coach Jerry Moe, during the post-game interview. “The first half, we had a lot of chances [but] we didn’t take [any]. The second half, we scored our chances.

“We didn’t let the first half get us down, we were better [in the] second half.”

Moe said a tough team-talk during the interval resulted in a change of mindset for his squad.

“The boys needed a kick up their pants,” he said. “I told them ‘you have to cry more and laugh less, stay focused on the job and be hungry’.”

Bishop’s High coach Richard Goddard bemoaned the errors made by his team, who remained in 16th place in the 18-team standings.

“There are some basic errors that you really don’t do,” Goddard said. “You must track [the opposing] players, you can’t hold on to the ball for too long.

“San Juan [are] definitely one of the top teams in the competition. If you create these errors for yourself, a team like San Juan North will pick you apart and that’s what happened.

“They played well, they did exactly what they were supposed to do and we got punished for that.”

(Teams)

San Juan North (4-4-1-1): 30.Stephon Langaigne (GK) (1.Xavion Haynes (GK) 84th); 14.Desailly Lewis (23.Michel Baptiste 79th), 2.Joshua Lewis (captain) (5.Hakeem Bartholomew 90th), 6.Jaheshua Ferguson, 15.Kent Guy; 12.Michael Hem Lee (17.Jahdel Chase-Charles 63rd), 19.Daniel Lewis, 8.Nathan Quashie, 11.Jadiel Joseph; 10.Lindell Sween; 21.Jaheem Danclar (3.Michael Greenaway 88th).

Unused substitute: 16.Isaiah Audain.

Coach: Jerry Moe

Bishop’s High (3-5-2): 1.Kristeon McEachnie (GK); 4.Justin Henry, 18.Adriano Murray, 3.Mikael Frank (21.Keilon Jack 52nd); 13.Kerron Arthur (captain), 8.Johan Elliot (19.Giovanni Burke 30th), 17.Brendon Allum (12.Damario Henry 63rd), 6.Kieran Wright, 16.Jelani Johnson; 9.Kaieem Lewis (11.Te’Shaun Kerr 79th), 10.Malik Wilson.

Unused substitutes: 24.Varel Wright (GK), 7.Isaiah Pantin, 20.Justin Antoine.

Coach: Richard Goddard

Referee: Crystal Sobers

SSFL Premier Division results

(Saturday 7 October)

San Juan North 6 (Jaheem Danclar 39, Lindell Sween 45, 83, 85, Nathan Quashie 48, Jadiel Joseph 90), Bishop’s High 0 at Bourg Mulatresse;

Pleasantville Secondary 0, Arima North 1 (Criston Gomez 16) at Manny Ramjohn Stadium Training Field;

East Mucurapo 0, St Anthony’s College 2 (Jean-Marc Thomas, Andell Fraser) at Fatima Ground;

Chaguanas North 1 (Justin Lewis), Fatima College 4 (Caden Trestrail [2], Aidan De Gannes, Luke Correia) at Edinburgh 500;

St Benedict’s College 5 (Daniel Jones [4], Nathan George), Speyside High 0 at Mahaica Oval;

Malick Secondary 5 (J’lon Matthews, Keston Richards, Jordan Ferdinand, Oba Samuel, Tyrese Manswell), St Mary’s College 2 (Marley Callender, Ryan Radellant) at Serpentine Road;

Naparima College 2 (Tevin Pantor, Jaron Pascall), Trinity East 1 (Dexter Croal) at Lewis Street;

Presentation (San F’do) 2 (Vaughn Clement [2]), QRC 0 at Manny Ramjohn Stadium.

2023 SSFL Premier Division

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Fatima	15	13	1	1	50	8	42	40
2	St Benedict's	15	11	2	2	51	10	41	35
3	San Juan	15	10	3	2	37	15	22	33
4	Presentation	15	9	4	2	25	8	17	31
5	Naparima	15	8	3	4	48	14	34	27
6	Arima North	15	7	5	3	24	10	14	26
7	St Anthony's	15	8	2	5	34	21	13	26
8	Malick	15	6	2	7	42	27	15	20
9	Trinity East	15	5	3	7	24	28	-4	18
10	Mucurapo	15	5	3	7	28	40	-12	18
11	QRC	15	5	2	8	30	32	-2	17
12	Speyside	15	4	5	6	18	29	-11	17
13	St Mary's	15	5	2	8	26	40	-14	17
14	Bishop's Tobago	14	1	1	12	9	45	-36	4
15	Chaguanas North	15	1	1	13	5	64	-59	4
16	Pleasantville	14	1	1	12	12	72	-60	4

Upcoming fixtures

(Wednesday 11 October)

St Benedict’s College vs Presentation (San F’do), Mahaica Oval, 4pm;

Pleasantville Secondary vs Chaguanas North, Manny Ramjohn Stadium Training Field, 4pm;

Fatima College vs QRC, Fatima Ground, 3.30pm;

Speyside High vs San Juan North, Speyside Recreation Ground, 3.30pm;

Arima North vs East Mucurapo, Arima Velodrome, 4pm;

Naparima College vs Bishop’s High, Lewis Street, 4pm;

St Anthony’s College vs Malick Secondary, Westmoorings, 4pm;

Trinity East vs St Mary’s College, Trincity, 4pm.

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