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Defending champions Fatima College opened up a three-point gap atop the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Premier Division standings today thanks to a 4-1 win over San Juan North Secondary at Mucurapo Road.
Fatima capitalised on another postponed fixture, as a torrential downpour left the St Anthony’s College ground unplayable and forced the “Westmoorings Tigers” clash with second place St Benedict’s College to be rescheduled.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868
As a result, St Benedict’s remain on 10 points with a game in hand while Fatima have 13 points from five matches, with four wins and one draw.
St Augustine Secondary were also granted a postponement after they failed to travel to Tobago to face Speyside High.
The “Green Machine” now have two make-up games to play against Presentation College (San Fernando) and Speyside respectively
Elsewhere, Naparima College and Arima North Secondary played to a 1-1 draw at Lewis Street, San Fernando, while Presentation College edged Signal Hill Secondary 1-0 in Tobago and Trinity College East held off Malick Secondary 3-2 at the Arima Velodrome.
Nelson scored twice in a 2-0 win.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868
At the Fatima Ground, Savio Yearwood put the hosts ahead after 29 minutes, while Caden Trestrail doubled the lead six minutes into the second half.
Former Trinidad and Tobago National Under-20 striker Lindell Sween reduced the deficit to 2-1 in the 88th minute when he pounced on a goalkeeping error by Logan Hamel-Smith to tap into an open net.
But another national youth team attacker and 2023 SSFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Michael Chaves, restored Fatima’s two-goal lead one minute into stoppage time.
Chaves has had a topsy-turvy year as he debuted for the National Senior Team in March before a broken leg, suffered while representing QPCC in the TTPFL Tier II, put him out of action for at least three months.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868
On a soggy outfield at Mucurapo, Chaves got his third goal of the 2024 SSFL season though as he raced past a few weary defenders before unleashing a powerful right-footed shot that was too hot for San Juan goalkeeper D’Andre Giddens to handle.
Jahaem Bailey put the icing on the cake, two minutes later, when he fired a left-footed drive from the edge of the penalty box past the outstretched left hand of Giddens.
This match was Fatima’s third in five days. Last Saturday, they blanked Presentation College (San Fernando) 2-0 at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, and, 48 hours later, they got the better of hosts St Augustine 1-0 in a rescheduled fixture.
Fatima coach Hutson ‘Baba’ Charles was pleased with his team’s effort.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868
“The game was a decent [one]—San Juan really pushed us, especially in the first half,” Charles said. “Our guys did well, seeing that we played on Monday. I thought the legs would have been in some problems, but [players held] up well to get a victory today. It speaks of their character.”
Commenting on having to play three games within a week, Charles noted: “It’s tough because we don’t have a big group. We have a small number, and it’s really taking a toll on us.
“We have about five games in [approximately] 10 days. We’re trying our best to rest [our players] so they can be fresh for the next game.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868
“[…] Playing back-to-back, day-in day-out is not easy, especially for these young guys. We have to cope with it.”
The former Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Senior Team head coach said he was not too concerned when Sween scored late in the second half.
“I thought we had the momentum, the better of the game,” said Charles. “I wasn’t too worried. It was just for these guys to stay focused, and you see what happened in the end.”
Photo: Daniel Prentice
Long-serving San Juan coach Jerry Moe reflected on the game: “I was a little bit disappointed with the overall performance. The four goals that we gave up were relatively soft. We’ve got to go back to the drawing board.
“[…] The defensive transition [was a problem]. When one man goes to pressure, the cover wasn’t there.”
Were his players overawed by playing the 2023 champions? Moe responded: “I don’t think so. It’s just that we didn’t execute in [crucial] moments of the game.”
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868
San Juan North, who are 11th in the 16 team standings at present, face second from bottom Miracle Ministries Pentecostal High School from 3.30pm on Saturday at Bourg Mulatresse.
Fatima host St Mary’s College at Mucurapo Road from 4pm on Saturday.
Premier Division results
(Wed 25 Sep)
Queen’s Royal College 2 (Phillip Nelson 25, 59), St Mary’s College 0 at QRC;
Fatima College 4 (Savio Yearwood 29, Caden Trestrail 51, Michael Chaves 90+1, Jahaem Bailey 90+3), San Juan North 1 (Lindell Sween 88) at Mucurapo Road;
Malick Secondary 2 (Jaquan Phillips 83, Tyrese Manswell 87), Trinity College East 3 (Khaleem Prince 37, Dexter Croal 40 pen, Deisean Plaza 63) at Serpentine Road;
Miracle Ministries PHS 0, East Mucurapo Secondary 1 (Hezekiah Charles) at Edinburgh 500;
Signal Hill Secondary 0, Presentation (San F’do) 1 (Micah Brathwaite 87) at Signal Hill;
Naparima College 1 (Israel Joseph 14), Arima North Secondary 1 (Criston Gomez 37 pen) at Lewis Street.
2024 SSFL Premier Division
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Fatima | 15 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 50 | 11 | 39 | 38 |
| 2 |  Presentation | 15 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 33 | 10 | 23 | 35 |
| 3 |  St Anthony's | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 38 | 19 | 19 | 33 |
| 4 |  St Benedict's | 15 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 28 | 16 | 12 | 29 |
| 5 |  Arima North | 15 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 26 | 14 | 12 | 24 |
| 6 |  QRC | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 24 | 19 | 5 | 24 |
| 7 |  Naparima | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 26 | 19 | 7 | 22 |
| 8 |  San Juan | 15 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 28 | 27 | 1 | 22 |
| 9 |  Signal Hill | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 26 | 28 | -2 | 21 |
| 10 |  Malick | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 30 | 32 | -2 | 20 |
| 11 |  St Mary's | 15 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 17 | 29 | -12 | 16 |
| 12 |  St Augustine | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 34 | -23 | 15 |
| 13 |  Trinity East | 15 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 20 | 30 | -10 | 13 |
| 14 |  Speyside | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 21 | 34 | -13 | 12 |
| 15 |  Mucurapo | 15 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 14 | 27 | -13 | 12 |
| 16 |  Miracle Ministries | 15 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 8 | 51 | -43 | 7 |
Upcoming fixtures
(Sat 28 Sep)
San Juan North v Miracle Ministries PHS, 3.30pm, Bourg Mulatrasse;
Fatima College v St Mary’s College, 4pm, Mucurapo Road;
East Mucurapo Secondary v Presentation (San F’do), 4pm, TBA;
Malick Secondary v St Benedict’s College, 4pm, Serpentine Road;
Speyside High v Trinity College East, 4pm, Speyside;
St Augustine Secondary v Signal Hill Secondary, 4pm, Warren Street;
Arima North Secondary v Queen’s Royal College, 4pm, Arima Velodrome.
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