Big Five: “Green Machine” return to Premier Division; budding meteorologist breaks Signal Hill hearts

St Augustine Secondary are back in the Premier Division. In their penultimate match in the Secondary Schools Football League’s (SSFL) Big Five competition at Warren Street yesterday, they edged past Signal Hill Secondary.

In an attritional contest with few chances and fewer moments of quality, striker Jemell Cooper’s angled 53rd minute header settled the issue.

Cooper dreams of one day becoming a meteorologist. Yesterday, he rained on Signal Hill’s Big Five parade. Still, the Tobago school’s chances of joining the Green Machine in the Premier Division next season remain far better than the chances of snow falling in Scarborough today.

Signal Hill host a lively Blanchisseuse outfit on Tuesday while St Augustine take on Miracle Ministries Pentecostal High School at Edinburgh 500.

Miracle Ministries’ clash with Moruga Secondary, set for Saturday, was postponed after ten Miracle Ministries students exhibited flu-like symptoms. But whatever happens in the remaining three games, after yesterday’s win, St Augustine already enjoy an unassailable seven points tally at the top of the standings.

Carrying a heavy weight on his shoulders after ’Gustine were relegated at the end of the 2022 SSFL Premier Division season, head coach Tacuma Jones can now breathe again.

“The feeling now is a kind of exhaling because we are back up in the Premiership,” he told Wired868. “All the pressure, the media etcetera, was on me. So, I hope that I have made the ‘Gustine family proud that we are going back up into the Premiership next year.”

For Signal Hill coach Downie Marcelle, however, the pressure is still on. He saw his team execute some fine moves to carve open the opposition defence in the first quarter of the game only for shoddy finishing and the brilliance of St Augustine custodian Madison Lewis to consign them to defeat.

“For me as a [former] player and as a coach, when a team plays better than me and beats me, I don’t say anything,” commented Marcelle, a student of the Pep Guardiola school of possession-based football. “But a loss like this is really dejecting—it is real hard, real hard.”

Within the first five minutes, Imanhi Forbes headed a cross over the bar from inside the six-yard box, before Jermaine Morgan slipped a pass through the defence for J’meke Watkins to hit straight at Lewis from close range.

In those frenzied opening minutes, St Augustine also spurned a golden chance, Signal Hill custodian Rondell Marcelle denying Jubrili Williams. After the exciting early exchanges, the hard grind set in, both teams creating few chances.

However, late in the first half, St Augustine found their second wind, Cooper in particular using his speed to get behind the Signal Hill lines.

When Jaquon DeFour unceremoniously manhandled him to slow him down, he was lucky to see only yellow. After the resulting free-kick swerved harmlessly wide of the Signal Hill upright, the visitors mounted their most dangerous attack of the first half.

Turning delightfully away from his marker, Jermaine Morgan raced into the box, finding himself with only Lewis to beat. The custodian narrowed the angle and the Signal Hill attacker belted the ball early towards the corner.

But Lewis stretched out a left leg and somehow contrived to deflect the ball out for a corner. Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez would have applauded. It was a superb interception, reminiscent of the Argentine’s wonder save to deny Randal Kolo Muani in the 2022 World Cup final.

By that time, ’Gustine coach Jones has already withdrawn defender Jaylon Assalam. As he took his place on the bench to be attended to by medical staff, the defender was holding his chest.

At the half, Jones also withdrew Nkosi Fuentes and put on Elijah Baptiste.

He later explained that they “have a lot of injuries”.

“I don’t want to play with that aspect of it,” he said. “A lot of it was fatigue. The guys could not exhibit or exert that much energy in the game so they decided to get one goal and defend it.”

The goal came eight minutes into the second half.

Marcel Valentine floated in an out-swinging cross that took out the two Signal Hill central defenders. Unattended, Cooper rose high. Whipping his neck around at the perfect moment, he sent the ball dipping past Marcelle’s left hand and into the net.

Two years of pent-up frustration were released in the next moment. The ’Gustine faithful screamed in delight as the entire Green Machine bench descended on Cooper.

Having got his goal, Jones channeled his inner Jose Mourinho, opting to stifle Signal and force them to chase the game.

“We basically changed into a 4-4-2 and had everybody behind the ball,” he explained.

With space at a premium in the attacking third, Signal Hill’s midfielders found life more difficult and their forwards were forced to track back to get the ball. Their best second-half chance came from one such moment.

On the hour mark, slippery substitute Carlus Charles gave two St Augustine defenders the slip. Clear on goal, he blasted his shot wide.

That was when Signal Hill coach Marcelle first felt it would not be his day. And during the last half-hour of the game, his team did not lay a glove on St Augustine.

Marcelle called the defeat “hurtful”.

“We had about three one-v-ones and we did not take any of our chances,” he lamented. “And to start the second half to see the [opposing] team create one chance and score, it is really hurtful.

“Football is the sport we love the most but it does break your heart.”

His team, he said, is “young with young players (so) you will always find inconsistency”.

“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose,” said Marcelle. “I thought the players did well. My midfielder Jaden Richardson had an excellent, excellent game.

“Alex Ferguson said that to win a tournament you sometimes need luck. Today, we were unlucky not to score. But when you fall down, it’s about (how) you get back up.

“We will definitely bounce back from this and come back for Blanchisseuse on Tuesday.”

His delighted opposite number said the win was about efficiency rather than aesthetics and stressed that his sights are now set on winning the Big Five.

“Football might not be as pretty as you like but we were effective today,” he said. “This game just solidifies our place in the Premiership so after today we can look forward to moving on to the Premiership.

“It takes us to the top of the table, but in order to win the Big Five, we need to win the rest of the games.”

The coach’s final comment was for the player who scored the winning goal.

“Jemell has always been a worker, from Premiership days to now—he will run for every ball,” said Jones. “I look towards his future. He is in Upper Six and I know he has the intellect and the ability to go as far as he wants to go.”

Which is just another way of saying that, for the would-be meteorologist whose header gave his coach and his school the chance to breathe the exalted air of the SSFL Premier Division once again, the sky is the limit.

(Teams)

St Augustine Secondary (4-3–3): 24.Madison Lewis (GK); 22.Jaylon Assalam (5.Jeremiah Jagroop 43), 14.Marcel Valentine, 23.Shemarki Lewis, 13.Jubrili Wiliams; 11.Giovanni Hospedales (8.Jahmarley Caleb 87), 6.Tyrese Andrews (captain), 3.Ethan Friday; 15.Israel Carter, 10.Nkosi Fuentes (20.Elijah Baptiste 46), 21.Jamell Cooper (16.Kerdel Richards 90+2)

Unused substitutes: 1.Jasiah Edwards (GK), 2.Zion Dannett, 7.Carlus Charles, 17.Adriano Telesford.

Coach: Tacuma Jones

Signal Hill Secondary (4-2-3-1): 1.Rondell Marcelle (GK); 6.Mario Pereira, 2.Jediah Phillips (captain), 12.Imanhi Forbes, 18.Jaquon DeFour; 8.Raevion Marshall, 5.Jaden Richardson; 7.J’Meke Watkins, 10.Jermaine Morgan, 21.Immanuel Wright (14.Kyen Anderson 64); 9.Khaleem Trim.

Unused substitutes: 19.Lashawn Scotland, 11.Jadiael Marcelle, 16.Kisean Grant.

Coach: Downie Marcelle

Referee: Garfield Weekes

Big Five Results

Saturday 24 February)

St Augustine Secondary 1 (Jamell Cooper 53), Signal Hill Secondary 0 at St Augustine;

Moruga Secondary vs Miracle Ministries at Moruga (Postponed)

Blanchisseuse Secondary are on a bye.