Unbeaten San Juan North meet Trinity East

San Juan North will be looking to continue their consistent run in the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Premier Division when they host Trinity East, at Bourg Mulatresse, in a Round 10 encounter today.

San Juan North are on sixth place with 15 points, while Trinity East are on seventh spot with 13 points.

Jerry Moe, coach of San Juan North, pinpointed the team’s defensive solidity as a key factor in their performances this season.

In an interview yesterday, Moe noted, “I think the biggest reason for the team’s consistency so far is that we start on the defensive end, and we’ve been consistent defensively.

“If you look at the standings, we and Presentation have about the least amount of goals defensively, but offensively we’ve got 20-something goals,” Moe continued.

“So, for us, everything starts on the defensive end. I think that’s the biggest key to it, the commitment of the players to put in the work on the defensive end.”

With regards to today’s game, Moe said, “Every game is a difficult one, every game is important. The game for us (today) is a very important one because Trinity East have a very experienced coaching staff, with (Michael) Grayson and Sean Best.

“We know they have a couple of players that represented the country at national duty so we don’t expect them to come to San Juan North and be intimidated,” he added. “We expect them to come and play to win and we’re going to go out there and try to win also.”

San Juan North copped the 2016 Intercol title and Moe pointed out, “The success of the Intercol will go a long way into that but the players are a little bit more experienced, playing at (the) Premiership level.

“After a year’s experience I think they’ve settled in and we can only improve by playing. They’ve played a bit during the (off-season) and (we’re getting) the rewards.”

San Juan North were initially relegated from the 2016 season but were reinstated months before the start of the 2017 edition.

Asked if the team has shaken off that scenario or do they still have a chip on their shoulder, Moe replied, “We want to win every game. We want to finish as high up the table as possible and if we have the opportunity to win the League then so be it. It’s not really a chip on (our) shoulder based on what happened last season. We have moved on from that.”

Today’s Matches (all starting at 3.40 pm) – San Juan North vs Trinity East, San Juan; Fyzabad vs Signal Hill, Fyzabad; Naparima vs Carapichaima, Lewis Street, San Fernando; Fatima vs St Anthony’s, Fatima Ground; Shiva Boys vs St Augustine, St Augustine Ground; Speyside vs St Benedict’s, Speyside; Trinity Moka vs Presentation San Fernando, Moka, Maraval; QRC vs St Mary’s, QRC.