Sports
Jonathan Ramnanansingh
SIGNAL Hill kept their Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) premiership title hopes alive after drubbing Trinity East 9-1 in their penultimate rescheduled match at the school grounds in Tobago on November 20.
Immaual Wright, Kyle James and Jedidiah Marcelle all scored braces for the home team as they ran rings around Trinity East to grab a valuable three points.
In the ninth minute, Immanual Wright lifted a perfectly weighted through ball over the back line for Morgan to chase and successfully slot home for the opener.
Two minutes later, right-winger Nickel Williams floated a long cross into the Trinity East area. He may have overhit it, but the ball found itself perfectly placed into the top left corner of the far post, sending them 2-0 up.
In the 16th minute, Kyle James added another to their tally when he turned swiftly atop the Trinity box and rifled past goalkeeper Ishmael Wadi.
A defensive blunder from the Trinidad team in the 32nd saw Wright wriggle past two defenders and shoot goalwards. The ball ricocheted off a Trinity defender and changed its trajectory, but still found itself in the net to carry the hosts 4-0 up.
Soon after, Wadi pulled off two good saves to prevent them from conceding again. However, when he got hold of the ball, he miscued his clearance, which Signal Hill’s Wright took control of, and tried to chip Wadi from distance. His shot was still held by a flying Wadi, but when he hit the ground, the ball bounced out of his hands and into James’ path, who made no mistake in front goal.
In the 41st, Jmeke Watkins made a brilliant run down the left and crossed into the Trinity area to Wright, who miscued his first shot, but eventually connected on the second attempt to send them 6-0 up. So it remained at the half.
At the resumption, Trinity conceded a penalty courtesy of a late challenge on Wright in the 58th. His left-footed shot parried off Wadi’s gloves and into the net.
Trinity East got a consolation goal in the 71st, courtesy of an aggressive run down the right. The player shot goalwards and benefited from a goalkeeping blunder, which took the score to 7-1.
Signal Hill, however, weren’t finished as yet as Jedidiah Marcelle got on the scoresheet with a low, left-footed shot. The hosts sealed a convincing triumph when Marcelle hit a similar shot to go 9-1 up before the final whistle.
Signal Hill’s victory (28 points) kept them fifth in the standings with two matches left. However, they are still awaiting a ruling from the league’s disciplinary committee regarding the outcome of their November 17 fixture against St Augustine.
The “Green Machine” failed to show for the match, and Signal Hill are now waiting to learn whether they will be awarded three points for St Augustine’s absence. If they are awarded the points, the Tobago team could climb to third in the standings.
Signal Hill have one more rescheduled match against Malick (12 points) on November 24, and a victory (if they receive the three points from St Augustine’s absence) would pull them level with leaders Naparima College (34 pts).
That result would set up an enticing title showdown on the final match day, with both teams scheduled to meet at Lewis Street in San Fernando.
SSFL Standings
Team*GP*W*D*L*GF*GA*GD*Pts
Naparima*14*11*1*2*40*7*33*34
St Benedict’s*14*11*0*3*41*14*27*33
Presentation (Sando)*14*10*1*3*37*9*28*31
Fatima*14*9*2*3*46*24*22*29
Signal Hill*12*9*1*2*39*12*27*28
St Anthony’s College*15*8*1*6*30*25*5*25
Trinity Moka*14*7*2*5*29*32*-3*23
Arima North*15*6*4*5*34*27*7*22
QRC*15*5*4*6*23*25*-2*19
St Mary’s College*15*5*3*7*31*23*8*18
Trinity East*14*4*1*9*20*50*-30*13
Malick*13*3*3*7*27*35*-8*12
St Augustine*14*3*3*8*16*43*-17*12
San Juan North*14*2*5*7*22*26*-4*11
Scarborough*14*2*5*7*18*33*-15*11
Carapichaima East*15*0*0*15*7*72*-65*0
