Speyside lose to Mucurapo; face possible SSFL premier division demotion

TOBAGO outfit Speyside High School (12 points) saw their 2024 Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) premier division campaign go up in smoke on November 18 when they were relegated after losing 4-2 to East Mucurapo Secondary (12 points) in a rescheduled match at Queen's Royal College ground, St Clair.

The pivotal rescheduled fixture was set to be played on November 17, but bad weather, accompanied by a series of lightning flashes, pushed back the encounter by 24 hours.

Speyside's mission was clear – get three points and leapfrog the 13th-placed Trinity College East (13 points) on the 16-team table to avoid relegation. With Trinity already playing their quota of 15 games, their players and staff would have surely been rooting for the Mucurapo schoolboys.

Mucurapo got the perfect start to the encounter as their lanky attacker Jalane Browne scored from a tight angle on the left to beat goalkeeper Elijah Richards in the fifth minute.

Browne was a constant thorn in Speyside's side, and his hat-trick eventually propelled the 15th-placed Mucurapo to their only fourth win of the league season.

The result wasn't always a certainty, though, as Speyside assumed control of the game with their direct play down the wings and took a 2-1 lead going into the half.

Sepyside leveled the game at 1-1 in the 24th minute when Daviel Thomas thumped a left-footed penalty past goalkeeper Zyan Sylvan after the impressive Isaiah Mundy was fouled in the area.

Speyside then took a 2-1 lead ten minutes later as Shyon George tapped into an empty net after Mundy beat Sylvan to a ball over the top.

The boys from the Tobago countryside appeared to be sitting comfortably, but their world turned upside down early in the second half when centre back Milz Johnson was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 53rd minute.

Though at a numerical disadvantage, Speyside missed a great chance in the 65th minute when Thomas dragged a right-footed shot wide of the mark after being found at the back post by a searching Riquelme Richards cross.

A minute later, Speyside were punished as Browne neatly got his second goal of the game when he faked out the keeper in a crowded area before sliding into an empty net to make it 2-2.

In the 75th minute, Mucurapo took a 3-2 lead when Gershon Chase calmly passed a free kick into the back of the net from just outside the area.

Four minutes later, Mucurapo put a dagger through Speyside's hopes when Browne beat Richards with a clinical right-footed penalty.

Both teams finished the season in the relegation zone on 12 points. And now, Speyside will pin their hopes on the SSFL's ruling in the matter involving St Benedict's College and their star forward Derrel Garcia.

Benedict's topped the premier division with 41 points from 15 games. However, Garcia's status as a legitimate student at the school was brought into question after he returned to the school this year after a stint in Spain. The league are in the process of deciphering whether Benedict's followed the proper procedures to enroll the premier division's top-scorer back into the school system.

If the league were to strip Benedict's of all their points, Speyside would avoid relegation and live to see another year in the SSFL's top flight.

SSFL premier division standings

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

St Benedict's*15*13*2*0*36*7*29*41

Fatima*15*11*2*2*48*14*34*35

Presentation (San Fernando)*15*11*2*2*33*10*23*35

St Anthony's College*15*10*0*5*36*21*15*30

Arima North*14*6*6*2*24*11*13*24

Naparima*15*6*4*5*26*19*7*22

QRC*15*6*3*6*22*21*1*21

Malick*15*6*2*7*30*32*-2*20

San Juan North*15*6*1*8*24*27*-3*19

Signal Hill*14*5*3*6*23*26*-3*18

St Mary's College*15*5*1*9*17*29*-12*16

St Augustine*15*4*3*8*11*34*-23*15

Trinity East*15*4*1*10*19*30*-11*13

14.Speyside*15*3*3*9*21*34*-13*12

15.East Mucurapo*15*4*0*11*14*27*-13*12

16.Miracle Ministries PHS*15*2*1*12*8*51*-43*7