SSFL 25: “Double D” doubles up, as Arima North hold off Trinity East 4-2 at the Velodrome

An understrength Arima North Secondary held their nerve to fend off a determined second-half fightback from Trinity College East for a 4-2 win in a rescheduled Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Premiership Division clash at the Arima Velodrome on Saturday.

The match had everything—from superb individual goals to defensive lapses, and late drama.

The “Dial Dynamos” were missing five of their regular players, including influential utility player Criston “CJ” Gomez. And the majority of their substitutes were between the ages of 13 and 15.

So, Arima could have been forgiven for feeling wary before the kickoff. But coach Wayne Sheppard’s young charges played with composure and panache in the early stages to forge a winning lead.

Goals from skipper Darren De Four, winger Cristiano Hinds, and a thunderous strike from defender Terriq Thomas gave Arima a much-needed victory, which steadied their midtable position in the Premier Division.

For Trinity East, who twice clawed themselves back into contention through captain Deisean Plaza and substitute Akeem Abdallah, they showed flashes of the quality that inspires hope they can fight their way out of a relegation scrap.

Arima North’s win lifted them from ninth to seventh in the 16-team standings.

They now have 16 points, and have played one more game than eighth-placed St Mary’s College (15 points) and two more than ninth-placed Trinity College (Moka) (also 15 points).

Elsewhere, Naparima College’s winless run extended to two matches after they were held 1-1 by San Juan North Secondary at Bourg Mulatresse.

St Benedict’s College moved up to second and within one point of Naparima’s tally of 28 points, after edging St Anthony’s College 1-0 at Mahaica Sporting Complex.

Fatima College are now in third, still two points behind Naparima, after coming from behind to draw 1-1 with Presentation College (San Fernando).

On Monday 3 November, Naparima are set to host St Benedict’s in a rescheduled fixture at Lewis Street, San Fernando that could decide which team wins the 2025 Premier Division championship.

At the Arima Velodrome, the home team were all over Trinity East—like white on rice, to be exact—for the first 20 minutes of the match.

Sheppard’s team moved the ball neatly from defence into enemy territory with short passes and switched play effortlessly from touchline to touchline, while outnumbering Trinity East in midfield.

“We were patient, we moved the ball from side to side, and we found the free man in the channel or wide,” the Arima North head coach said.

The first goal came in the 23rd minute, when midfielder Hasheem Hill’s curling cross tempted Trinity goalkeeper Ishamel Wadi off his line.

With the keeper hesitating slightly, De Four leapt high to redirect the ball in the back of the net off his forehead.

Sheppard said his team came prepared to exploit Trinity’s presumed goalkeeping issues.

“[Ishmael Wadi] is a decent shot-blocker, but in terms of coming and claiming the ball at the highest point, I think he has some work to do,” said Sheppard.

Undeterred, Trinity East dug in and started to grow in confidence, while the Dial Dynamos seemed to lose steam.

“They decided to drift away a bit too much as well, and their intensity dropped—not to take anything away from Trinity,” Sheppard said.

Arima were still very dangerous in transition, and just before halftime, the home crowd was roaring with delight again.

This time, forward Zion Metivier, midfielder Zain Greenidge and Hinds worked a passing triangle down the right flank, which culminated in Hinds cutting inside the opposing the penalty area.

And the 16-year-old Hinds finished off the move with a sweet half-volley across the goalkeeper and into the net.

“We worked yesterday on striking last post if you are coming in at an angle,” said Sheppard, “Thank God he didn’t do what he was doing the whole year, which was hitting [at the] first post.”

Arima led 2-0 at the break, and it seemed a long way back for Trinity East—not that Sheppard was altogether impressed.

“I told them [during the halftime break] we need to come out and win the first 15 minutes,” he said. “We didn’t, and it was always tough from there.”

In the opposition dressing room, the Trinity East players were asked to show more self-belief in the second half. And they responded.

“We came out with a little more aggression, and it confused the Arima players, and they were more rushed into their play,” said Trinity East assistant coach Keive Vanloo. “That is how we were able to convert the first goal.”

The “Blue Hawks”, playing with more belief and conviction, pulled a goal back within five minutes of the restart.

Midfielder Plaza, ironically coached by Sheppard at QPCC FC, received the ball in space and raced towards the area.

As the ball bounced in front of him, Plaza lobbed it over the advancing Arima North goalkeeper, Jadon-Paul Alexander, to cut the deficit.

“I told them not to let Plaza turn on his left foot to shoot, and we stood off him and BAM!—goal,” said a rueful Sheppard.

Momentum was now with the visitors, and their midfield trio of Plaza, Dejon Martinez, and Dexter Croal began to dictate the rhythm of the game.

The Arima players looked rattled, and in the stands the Trinity fans were finally finding their voices.

However, while Trinity sensed they could get another goal, it was Arima who scored to restore their two-goal cushion.

In the 62nd minute, a right-sided De Four corner was deflected to the edge of the box where Thomas waited. What happened next drew gasps from even the Trinity East fans.

Thomas, making his first start of the season, curled the ball perfectly into the top corner of the net.

Wadi, unsighted by a clutch of players in front of him, never had a chance.

“From the moment he hit it, I knew it was going to score,” said Sheppard. “The ball stood still—that is a sign that he hit cleanly through the ball.”

Arima were ahead 3-1, but the game was far from settled.

After having a goal disallowed in the 65th minute for offside, ten minutes later, Trinity East capitalized on a moment of indecision.

Substitute Akeem Abdallah, who had only been on the field for nine minutes, pounced on a pass from Croal with the Arima North defence caught off guard.

Croal’s pass caught the defence square, and Abdallah finished powerfully into the corner to make it 3-2.

“For me, it looked like we tried to play offside, and I have never coached that,” said Sheppard, “One ball beat our entire back line and caught the keeper in no-man’s land.”

The final 15 minutes were played at breakneck pace.

Trinity East, who brought in three subs in the last quarter hour, pushed bodies forward in search of the equalizer.

However, they left spaces open at the back, and in the final minute of regulation time, Arima North substitute Micha’el John made them pay.

John controlled a long diagonal ball and pushed the ball past a Trinity College East defender.

As he burst through on the right, John was clipped from behind by Jehrell Ignatius in the penalty area and referee N’neeka Harewood pointed to the spot immediately.

Skipper De Four stepped up and buried the penalty into the corner, well away from Wadi.

Known as “Double D” to his friends, De Four now has doubles in back-to-back outings for Arima, against Malick Secondary and TCE—having missed their midweek trip to Fatima due to suspension.

The Arima fans were back in full voice—their team had the three points, but it felt like much more.

It was a great show of resilience from a young Arima North team. Even with limited resources, they found a way to earn the perfect result with the most imperfect of performances.

After the match, Sheppard’s assessment was as blunt as it was insightful.

“It was harder than the score suggested,” he said. “The second half performance wasn’t anything that I would go home and be comfortable about.”

Sheppard, whose teams are defensively solid and sometimes short of goals, said he adjusted his tactics this year. But he might have gotten more than he bargained for.

“Most of my sides have been stingy with conceding but struggle to score,” he said, “We have scored four goals in the last three games on a trot… On the defensive side, I can’t be happy.”

On the opposite bench, assistant coach Vanloo was proud but frustrated with the outing.

“I thought we should have at least gotten a point,” he said. “We did show that fighting spirit right down until the end of the game.”

Vanloo said his team continue to be haunted by defensive lapses.

“The boys not doing their assignments costs us,” he said. “Hopefully, before this season ends, it sticks and they will do their assignments much better.”

Arima North will take on Trinity College (Moka) in their next match on Tuesday, a match that has some sentimental value to Sheppard.

“I did my A ‘Levels at Trinity,” he said with a smile. “Hopefully, we will be a little stronger by then, so we will see what will happen.”

Trinity East are preparing for a battle with Queen’s Royal College, and Vanloo knows his team must be ready for the challenge.

“QRC [are] a bit of an up-and-down team. You do not know what team you are really going to face,” he said. “We have played against coach [Kenwyne] Jones’ team and I think we know how to prepare.”

As the crowds drifted away, Arima North had double cause for celebration on Saturday—the 25^th of October marked defender and team captain Jaquan Aguilleria’s birthday.

His teammates surprised him with a cake on the field.

The popular center-back, now 18, was all smiles as he was sent down “the gauntlet”—a tunnel of laughing teammates who playfully pounded him as he ran through them.

It was a fitting end to a spirited afternoon, and a reminder of why Arima North, with its flaws and growing pains, continues to carve out its own niche in SSFL’s Premiership.

And they have almost certainly now booked their spot for another season in top flight in 2026.

Teams

Arima North (3-2-4-1): 1.Jadon-Paul Alexander (GK); 13.Terriq Thomas, 20.Jaquan Aguilleria, 6.O’Neil Dyer; 25.Ky-Mani Moore, 19.Hasheem Hill; 17.Cristiano Hinds, 29.Zain Greenidge (8.Kanye Eastman 75), 10.Darren De Four, 18.Kafense McKell (21.Micha’el John 66); 9.Zion Metivier (32.Jeremiah Leera 90).

Unused substitutes: 12.Micaiah Thomas (GK), 7.Jovanni Vitalis, 14.Jordan Pryce, 22.Javan Smith, 28.Janio Marcano, 30.Kadeem Farfan, 33.Hirshil Parks, 34.Jerrel Hackshaw, 35.Jabari Joseph.

Coach: Wayne Sheppard.

Trinity College East (4-3-3): 22.Ishmael Wadi (GK); 6.Jehrell Ignatius, 24.Javon Denoon, 4.Zochi Bacchus, 2.Duhann Goddard (3.Shane Burnett-Mattis 82); 17.Dejon Martinez, 7.Deisean Plaza, 5.Dexter Croal (18.Jaquan Gill 88); 10.Elijah Diaz, 9.Malachi Johnson (13.Akeem Abdallah 66), 8.Jakwon Howell (12.Amani Lopez 76).

Unused substitutions: 1.Matthius Games (GK), 11.Nikhil Hector, 16.Nyrell Roberts, 19.Donte Critchlow, 20.Mickhai Reece, 21.Josh Gille, 23.Johanson Gajadhar, 25.Ixiah Julian.

Coach: Dwayne Davis.

Referee: N’neeka Harewood.

SSFL Premier Division results

(Sat 25 October)

St Benedict’s College 1 (Elijah David 61), St Anthony’s College 0 at Mahaica Sporting Complex;

Fatima College 1 (Jonathan Mason 32), Presentation (San F’do) 1 (Isaiah Jacob 4) at Mucurapo Road;

Arima North 4 (Darren De Four 23, 90+2 pen, Cristiano Hinds 44, Terriq Thomas 62), Trinity East 2 (Deisean Plaza 50, Akeem Abdallah 75) at Arima Velodrome;

San Juan North 1 (G Forde 64), Naparima College 1 (Jaydon Caprietta 47) at Bourg Mulatresse.

Upcoming fixtures

(Tue 28 October)

St Anthony’s College v Naparima College, 3.30pm, Westmoorings;

San Juan North v St Mary’s College, 3.30pm, Bourg Mulatresse;

Arima North v Trinity College, 3.30pm, Arima Velodrome;

Carapichaima East v Fatima College, 3.30pm, Ato Boldon Stadium;

Trinity East v QRC, 3.30pm, Trincity;

Presentation (San F’do) v St Augustine Secondary, 3.30pm, Mannie Ramjohn Stadium;

St Benedict’s College v Malick Secondary, 3.30pm, Mahaica Sporting Complex;

Signal Hill Sec v Scarborough Secondary, 3.30pm, Signal Hill.