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Coaches Wayne Sheppard of Arima North Secondary and Clint McMillan of St Benedict’s College cited pre-season challenges today, after their teams battled to a goalless draw in the opening match of the 2024 Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Premiership Division at the Arima Velodrome.
Heavy afternoon rain and a waterlogged outfield elsewhere in east Trinidad meant that the contest between defending champions Fatima College and newly promoted St Augustine Secondary never kicked off.
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However, at the Velodrome, Arima and St Benedict’s struggled to find their rhythm on a decent surface with both teams battling with cramps throughout the match.
“That’s a customary thing for the first game in the season,” said Sheppard. “The layman might think that’s a lack of fitness but the adrenaline is pumping so hard for the first game that you exert and tire yourself.
“Many of my boys missed pre-season, playing in less competitive leagues, and it’s showing.”
Asked to elaborate on his point about players missing pre-season, Sheppard said: “Trinidad and Tobago believe that playing in any competition is development. So, [the] boys [were] playing in substandard competitions all over the country and coming here now, and they’re struggling.
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“It’s now to get them up to the pace required for this competition.”
McMillan, who spoke on behalf of Benedict’s head coach Randolph Boyce, agreed with Sheppard on the greater challenge posed by the Premier Division competition—although the issue for the southerners was the absence of a handful of senior players who must still be registered.
“Remember this is a Premier League and [the players] would be Under-20s,” said McMillan. “Players who are closer to (ages) 18-20 will have a different physicality to run 90 minutes. Some of the younger bodies couldn’t take that physicality.”
The game saw few clear scoring opportunities.
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Arima’s Dimitre Jones had an early chance in the opposing box but missed the target with his angled left-footed drive. St Benedict’s attacker Mikhail Bullock also failed to convert from close range, sending a shot straight at Arima keeper Jadon-Paul Alexander.
Arima playmaker Darren DeFour and St Benedict midfielders Kai Robertson also came close, but both teams lacked the cutting edge needed to break the deadlock.
McMillan said challenges in having players registered by the Ministry of Education impacts the quality of games at this stage of the season.
“There are still players that would be missing for the next game for both teams (Arima and St Benedict’s), and maybe some other teams,” he said. “It affected the quality in the way the teams were supposed to play [today].”
Morris was unavailabe to face Arima North Secondary due to registration issues.
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Despite the result, Sheppard remained positive.
“I thought the game was played at a good tempo,” he said. “I thought we were in the ascendancy for most of the game. We put the ball down and tried to play between the lines, which we were doing successfully.
“But one of our key players, whom we played through the lines to get him free, had an ‘off’ game. That was Micha’el John.
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“Coming away with a clean sheet is always a good sign. Defensively, I thought we were steady [but] we lapsed at the ending, concentration-wise.”
McMillan was gracious to the tactical approach of their hosts. It is the second time in as many years that the two teams cancelled each other, after a 1-1 draw at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium in 2023.
St Benedict’s still finished runners-up last year with Arima North ending in sixth place on the 16-team standings.
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“I [thought] Arima had some nice tactics,” said McMillan. “They showed good combination play and controlled the midfield in patches.
Both teams will look to improve in their next outings as the SSFL season unfolds.
Teams
Arima North Secondary (4-3-3): 1.Jadon-Paul Alexander (GK); 3.Criston Gomez, 4.Garrick Thomas (captain), 16.Ability Hazel, 20.Jaquan Aguilleria (6.Stephen Ollivierie 70); 21.Micha’el John (2.Joshua Malchan 72), 19.Hasheem Hill, 10.Darren DeFour; 18.Zion Metivier (8.Jamarley Caleb 60), 9.Tyrell Stapleton (17.Cristiano Hinds 82), 7.Dimitre Jones (15.Keston Richards 51).
Unused substitutes: 12.Javany Ferdinand (GK), 5.Tyler Ayers, 13.Naeem Crichlow, 14.Jonathan Lee Fai, 25.Essien Thomas.
Coach: Wayne Sheppard
St Benedict’s College (4-4-2): 22.Naftali Charles (GK); 2.Malerky Fraser, 4.Adam Pierre, 3.Isaiah David, 5.Salim Soanes; 18.Nathan George (10.Reuben Phillip 62), 20.Josiah Barrow, 15.Kai Robertson (14.Thiery Ash 86), 12.Camron Burke; 7.Mikhail Bullock (17.Elijah David 62), 9.Jelani Stoute (16.Malik Young 62).
Unused substitutes: 6.Jeremiah Joseph, 13.Ahkiah Medford.
Coach: Randolph Boyce
Referee: Anil Joseph
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SSFL Premier Division results
(Wed 11 Sep)
Arima North Secondary 0, St Benedict’s College 0 at Arima Velodrome;
San Juan North 2 (Jadiel Joseph 12, Michael Baptiste 39), Queen’s Royal College 1 at Bourg Mulatrasse;
Naparima College 2 (Akiel Vesprey, Donovan Drayton), East Mucurapo Secondary 0 at Lewis Street;
Presentation (San F’do) 6 (Isaiah Jacob 3, Caleb Boyce 21, 52, 60, 62, Duhrell Young 77), Miracle Ministries PHS 0 at Mannie Ramjohn Stadium;
Speyside High 2 (Daviel Thomas, Riquelme Phillips), Malick Secondary 2 (Antonio Sealy [2]) at Speyside;
St Mary’s College 0, St Anthony’s College 6 (Jean-Marc Thomas 16, 22, Jaeden Bobb 39, 44, Rondell Harewood 49, Terique Theobald 54) at Serpentine Road.
O’Brien did not recover from the incident and had to be replaced by Logan Hamel-Smith.
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Upcoming fixtures
(Thursday 12 Sep)
Trinity College East v Signal Hill Secondary, 3.30pm, Trincity;
(Sat 14 Sep)
Queen’s Royal College v Presentation (San F’do), 3.30pm, QRC;
St Anthony’s College v East Mucurapo Secondary, 3.30pm, Mucurapo Road;
Trinity College East v Naparima College, 3.30pm, Trincity;
Fatima College v Miracle Ministries PHS, 3.30pm, Mucurapo Road;
Signal Hill Secondary v San Juan North, 3.30pm, Signal Hill;
Speyside High v St Benedict’s College, 3.30pm, Speyside;
St Mary’s College v Malick Secondary, 3.30pm, Serpentine Road;
Arima North Secondary v St Augustine Secondary, 3.30pm, Arima Velodrome;
(To be advised)
St Augustine Secondary v Fatima College, 3.30pm, Warren Street.
2024 SSFL Premier Division
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  St Benedict's | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 25 |
| 2 |  Fatima | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 9 | 17 | 19 |
| 3 |  Presentation | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 4 | 16 | 19 |
| 4 |  Arima North | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 17 |
| 5 |  QRC | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 13 |
| 6 |  St Augustine | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 12 | -2 | 13 |
| 7 |  Naparima | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 12 |
| 8 |  St Anthony's | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 12 |
| 9 |  Malick | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 16 | 1 | 11 |
| 10 |  St Mary's | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 21 | -12 | 10 |
| 11 |  San Juan | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 17 | -2 | 9 |
| 12 |  Signal Hill | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 22 | -6 | 8 |
| 13 |  Trinity East | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 16 | -4 | 6 |
| 14 |  Mucurapo | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 12 | -8 | 6 |
| 15 |  Speyside | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 17 | -8 | 5 |
| 16 |  Miracle Ministries | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 34 | -31 | 3 |
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Joel Bailey is an experienced sport writer with over two decades’ experience at the Trinidad Newsday.
