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Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) general secretary Azaad Khan has confirmed a seven-point deduction for St Augustine Secondary for using an unregistered player, Shumba Cudjoe, for four games and a suspended player, Aaden Maharaj, in one outing.
All five games—two of which were previously won by St Augustine—are now tabulated as 3-0 wins for their opponents.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868
The Cudjoe decision was made by the SSFL Disciplinary and Appeals Committee while the Disciplinary Committee decided on the Maharaj affair.
St Augustine Secondary head coach and maths teacher Tacuma Jones is understood to have accepted both decisions.
The rulings see the “Green Machine” fall four places from seventh to 11th while their goal differential moves from -10 goals to -21.
With their adjusted points tally of 14 points from as many games, Jones’ outfit are just five points above Speyside High and East Mucurapo Secondary, who are both in the relegation zone with nine points each.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868
St Augustine, who picked up a creditable 12 points from a possible 21 at their home venue before the boardroom rulings, play their final league game on Friday against Queen’s Royal College at Warren Street, St Augustine.
Speyside have three remaining matches against Arima North Secondary and East Mucurapo (both away) and Signal Hill Secondary at home.
East Mucurapo are away to Signal Hill on Friday before they host Speyside in a rescheduled match.
If East Mucurapo and/ or Speyside win this week, it would set up a photo finish. Thirteenth place Trinity College East must defeat relegated Miracle Ministries Pentecostal High School in Edinburgh 500 and hope that Mucurapo and Speyside don’t hoover up any more points.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868
While, for 12th place Signal Hill and 11th place St Augustine, nothing short of 16 points looks safe if the relegation-threatened teams are able to hobble together some wins.
At the other end of the table, St Anthony’s College are the big beneficiaries as they leapfrog Arima North to fourth place thanks to the Cudjoe ruling.
St Anthony’s are away to San Juan North Secondary on Friday while they host Signal Hill next Monday.
The Cudjoe verdict also impacted upon the SSFL East Zone Under-16 Division as the former Bon Air Secondary student featured in a win for his new school over Trinity College East before he was registered.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868
By applying the ruling in the East Zone, Trinity East moved ahead of Holy Cross College for the final under-16 semifinal berth. The “Blue Hawks” will now play Arima North Secondary in the semifinal round on Saturday 9 November, with Hillview College and San Juan North contesting the other final four match.
Matches in which Shumba Cudjoe played before he was registered:
- Sat 21 Sep: St Augustine Secondary 1 (Elijah Baptiste 67), St Anthony’s College 0 at Warren Street;
- Mon 23 Sep: St Augustine Secondary 0, Fatima College 1 (Luke Correia 15) at Warren Street;
- Sat 28 Sep: St Augustine Secondary 3 (Marcel Valentine, Giovanni Hospedales, Shumba Cudjoe), Signal Hill Secondary 3 (Kyle James [2], Israel Trim) at Warren Street;
- Wed 2 Oct: St Mary’s College 2 (Joshua Charlerie, Kyle Phillip), St Augustine Secondary 0 at Serpentine Road.
Match in which Aaden Maharaj played despite being suspended:
- Wed 9 Oct: St Augustine Secondary 3 (Shumba Cudjoe, Ky-mani Hazel, OG), East Mucurapo Secondary 0 at Warren 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 SSFL Premier Division fixtures
(Fri 1 Nov)
Presentation (San F’do) v Naparima College, 3.30pm, Mannie Ramjohn Stadium;
Fatima College v Malick Secondary, 3.30pm, Mucurapo Road;
St Mary’s College v St Benedict’s College, 3.30pm, Serpentine Road;
San Juan North v St Anthony’s College, 3.30pm, Bourg Mulatrasse;
Arima North Secondary v Speyside High, 3.30pm, Arima Velodrome;
Miracle Ministries PHS v Trinity College East, 3.30pm, Edinburgh 500;
Signal Hill Secondary v East Mucurapo Secondary, 3.30pm, Signal Hill;
St Augustine Secondary v Queen’s Royal College, 3.30pm, Warren Street;
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868
Rescheduled Matches
(Mon 4 Nov)
St Anthony’s College v Signal Hill Secondary, 3.30pm, Westmoorings;
(Thu 7 Nov)
Speyside High v Signal Hill Secondary, 3.30pm, Speyside;
(TBA)
East Mucurapo Secondary v Speyside Secondary, 3.30pm, Mucurapo Road;
Signal Hill Secondary v Arima North Secondary, 3.30pm, Signal Hill.
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