St Benedict's look to keep SSFL streak alive vs St Augustine

SECONDARY Schools Football League (SSFL) premier division frontrunners St Benedict’s College (28 points) will go after a tenth straight win in the ongoing season when they host the “Green Machine” of St Augustine Secondary (14 points) in round 11 action at the Mahaica Sporting Complex, Point Fortin from 3.30 pm on October 16.

All matches will kick off at 3.30 pm, and Benedict’s will be looking to maintain or even stretch their six-point lead as they hunt a second premier division title in three years. In their last encounter against the struggling East Mucurapo Secondary on October 12, St Benedict’s continued their impressive unbeaten run thanks to two spectacular second-half goals from their skipper and national under-20 player Derrel “Zum Zum” Garcia.

And with the second-placed Presentation College San Fernando (22 points) scheduled to meet north powerhouse St Anthony’s College (18 points) in Westmoorings in a rematch of last year’s national intercol final, St Benedict’s will be keen to capitalise on any potential slip-up by the “Pres Lions.”

Presentation tamed the “Tigers” via a penalty shootout in the 2023 national intercol final, and they will need another favourable result to keep the pressure on the table-toppers. St Anthony’s are coming off a 4-1 win against Queen’s Royal College and are no pushovers by any means.

Benedict’s match day opponents St Augustine are being made to sweat off the field as well, as league president Merere Gonzales confirmed the Green Machine had been brought before the SSFL’s disciplinary committee for their registration of Shumba Cudjoe, who has scored three goals so far this season.

According to an article from Wired868, the SSFL disciplinary committee discovered Cudjoe had been used in four premier division games before he was properly registered by the Green Machine. Gonzales corroborated the details but opted not to comment further on the subject as he indicated the school still had three days to appeal the decision, per the league’s constitution.

St Augustine coach Tacuma Jones told Newsday he wasn’t willing to comment on Cudjoe’s registration ruling. However, he did confirm St Augustine were in the process of appealing the league’s decision.

After gaining promotion via last season’s Big 5 championship division playoffs, St Augustine have had a decent return to the SSFL top flight, finding themselves seventh on 14 points. Cudjoe netted in wins over Trinity College East (1-0) and Mucurapo (3-0) earlier this month, to go along with a goal in a 3-3 draw with fellow promoted team Signal Hill Secondary on September 28.

Their clash with Benedict’s aside, St Augustine will have an anxious 72 hours ahead as they present their case to the disciplinary committee and wait to see if any points will be deducted from their current points tally.

On the field of play, the third-placed Fatima College (20 points) will be aiming to get back to winning ways when they host Trinity College East (seven points) in Mucurapo. In their last match, Fatima were held 2-2 by the 14th-placed Speyside Secondary (six points).

At Lewis Street in San Fernando, four-time premier division champions Naparima College (18 points) will be keen to continue their recent climb on the 16-table table when they host the eighth-placed QRC (13 points). In a rescheduled match on October 14, Naparima moved up to fifth spot when they got a 4-2 comeback win over Malick Secondary, with the lanky Israel Joseph netting a second-half double.

On Serpentine Road in St Clair, the 11th-placed St Mary’s College and San Juan North Secondary (both ten points) will do battle.

Near the foot of the table, there will be a battle for survival between Speyside and the cellar-placed Miracle Ministries Pentecostal High School (four points) in Tobago as both teams try to get out of the dreaded relegation zone.

At QRC ground in St Clair, the 15th-placed Mucurapo (six points) will also try their best to head in an upward trajectory when they host the ninth-placed Malick (11 points).

SSFL premier division standings

Team*GP*W*D*L*GF*GA*GD*Pts

St Benedict's*10*9*1*0*18*6*12*28

2.Presentation (San Fernando)*9*7*1*1*23*5*18*22

Fatima*10*6*2*2*28*11*17*20

Arima North*10*4*6*0*18*5*13*18

Naparima*9*5*3*1*20*8*12*18

St Anthony's College*9*6*0*3*21*10*11*18

St Augustine*9*4*2*3*11*13*-2*14

QRC*10*4*1*5*13*14*-1*13

Malick*10*3*2*5*20*23*-3*11

San Juan North*10*3*1*6*15*17*-2*10

St Mary's College*10*3*1*6*9*23*-14*10

Signal Hill*9*2*3*4*17*23*-6*9

Trinity East*10*2*1*7*13*19*-6*7

Speyside*8*1*3*4*11*19*-8*6

East Mucurapo*9*2*0*7*4*14*-10*6

Miracle Ministries PHS*10*1*1*8*4*35*-31*4