Intercol north zone finalists known: QRC to battle St Anthony's

QUEEN'S Royal College (QRC) stunned Secondary Schools Football Premier League champions Fatima College 2-1 in the Coca Cola Intercol North Zone semi-finals at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo on Thursday.

Victory meant QRC will oppose St Anthony's College in the finals.

QRC held their own in the opening minutes and came closest to breaking the deadlock with a header that struck the bar.

It was expected to be one-way traffic as Fatima won the league title earlier this season, but the QRC players showed they came for a football fight and were well and truly up for the challenge.

An attack in the 14th minute for QRC was dealt with by Fatima as goal-keeper Tristan Edwards got to the ball just before Tau Lamsee.

Stephon James could have given QRC the lead but could not beat Edwards as he volleyed over the bar.

Fatima started to control possesion, but it was still QRC that looked more likely to take the lead.

In the 24th minute, there was a neat link up between Fatima's Aidan De Gannes and Michael Chaves, but the latter's shot did not find the target.

De Gannes gave Fatima the lead in the 36th minute with a deflected shot. Fatima took the 1-0 lead into half-time.

Stephon James levelled the contest for QRC early in the second half. James did well to shrug off a defender, and as he fell to the ground unleashed a bullet into the net.

It was end to end action, but Fatima started to show their quality that led to their league crown a few weeks ago.

Around the hour mark, Fatima's Joshua Mason struck the post after running on to a through ball.

The teams continued to battle and it was the Royalians who took the lead through substitute Mussadiq Mohammed. He struck a powerful, swerving shot past Edwards.

The QRC fans certainly made their voices heard as they sang and chanted throughout the contest. They went home in a joyous mood as the match eventually ended 2-1.

In the first semifinal match of the double-header, St Anthony's College defeated East Mucurapo Secondary 3-0. St Anthony's took a 2-0 lead at half-time with goals from Andell Fraser and Joshua Miller. Mordecai Ford rounded off the scoring with a late goal.