James heads Signal Hill into Intercol semis

Jalanie James fired in an 81st minute header yesterday as Signal Hill progressed into the semi-final round of the Coca Cola National Intercol competition with a 1-0 victory over St Mary’s at the Plymouth Recreation Ground.

The win sees Signal Hill progress to Thursday’s semis at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, where they will face reigning champs San Juan North. The other semi-final will feature Shiva Boys against Carapichaima East, with the final carded for Monday at the Couva venue.

The Signal Hill-St Mary’s match was a mostly forgettable affair, with both teams hardly offering any goalscoring threat.

In the 22nd minute, St Mary’s Trey La Motte fired a long-range left-footed shot from 20 metres out which sailed over the crossbar. Michel Poon-Angeron’s 37th minute freekick from the edge of the penalty box narrowly missed the Signal Hill goal as the visitors tried their luck from distance.

Signal Hill had a few moments to break the deadlock, but they needed a defensive lapse from the “Saints” late in the second half to get the game-clinching goal.

A left-footed curling shot from the right was spilled by St Mary’s goalkeeper Regaleo Holder and James was on hand to head the rebound into the vacant net.

Nigel De Souza, coach of Signal Hill, said after the match, “We’re trying to bring home the title. San Juan beat us 3-0 in the (Secondary Schools Football League Premiership). We still have to be better in attack, but we’re confident.”

His opposite number, St Mary’s Ryan Shim, acknowledged, “It’s a difficult one to take. The boys gave all that they had. This has been a tremendous season for us. We’ll like to thank all our fans.”

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"James heads Signal Hill into Intercol semis"

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