'Naps' go five for five in SSFL, beat Scarborough 2-0

Southern giants Naparima College (15 points) continued their strong start to the 2025 Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) premier division campaign when they got a 2-0 win over Scarborough Secondary at Shaw Park Recreation Ground, Tobago on October 1 on an exciting day of action across the league.

With newly minted TT women's team coach Angus Eve in their dugout, Naparima didn't lose any focus on the mission at hand and first-half goals from Antonio Hills and captain Jerrel Cooper saw them getting their fifth straight win of the young season as they opened up a narrow two-point gap atop the standings.

Reigning national Intercol champions St Benedict's College (nine points) also made good on their trip to Tobago when they got a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Signal Hill Secondary.

Back in Trinidad, though, another south powerhouse in Presentation College San Fernando (12 points) didn't quite have the same luck as they slid from second to fifth when they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to Arima North Secondary (eight points) at the Arima Velodrome. Presentation entered the clash on the back of four straight victories and would have been confident with the league's top scorer Isaiah Jacob in their ranks. However, Arima have fine attacking options of their own and they came up big late in the second half to give their team the result. Zion Metivier opened the scoring in the 73rd minute, with midfielder Darren DeFour adding the insurance item in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage-time to end the "Pres" winning run.

In Signal Hill, there was also late drama to be had as midfielder Cam'Ron Burke rifled home a left-footed shot in the 83rd minute to give Benedict's the win over Signal Hill in the five-goal thriller. The Tobago outfit opened the scoring in the 22nd minute through their prolific attacker Kyle James, before St Benedict's skipper Adam "Toka" Pierre equalised in the 35th minute with a thunderbolt right-footed free kick from approximately 35 yards out. The rugged national youth midfielder certainly has the eye for the spectacular and he gave Signal Hill a brutal reminder.

In the 61st minute, Benedict's put their noses in front when defender Joshua Figaro headed in a left-side free kick. In the 77th minute, though, Signal Hill responded with a set piece goal of their own when Jahmiah Gibbes scored during a scramble in the box after the visitors failed to deal with a right-side corner.

In the 82nd minute, Benedict's had a scare when goalkeeper Thane Devenish spilled a deep cross from the left side. The southerners weren't punished and made Signal Hill pay just seconds later when Burke latched onto a loose ball and slapped past the goalie after the Tobago boys struggled to clear a cross ball. Benedict's moved from seventh to sixth with the win.

In Westmoorings, Trinity College Moka (six points) got their second victory of the season when a Jaden Samuel double helped them to a 3-2 result over usual north powerhouse St Anthony's College (three points). Kelun Hernandez scored the other goal as Trinity Moka took a 3-0 lead by the hour-mark, before two late goals from the "Tigers" gave their opponents a nervy end to the match.

The other Trinity team, Trinity College East, wouldn't be as cheerful as they were beaten 3-1 by holders Fatima College (13 points) in Trincity. Attacker Jeremai Nanton scored a brace to lead the boys from Mucurapo Road as they moved from fourth to second.

At QRC Grounds, St Clair, the Royalians of QRC (13 points) quietly kept their positive run going as they defeated San Juan North Secondary 3-2 in a game which featured own goals on either end. After the scores were tied at 2-2 in the 48th minute, the hosts got the decisive goal from Josh Thavenot in the dying moments of regulation time to jump from fifth to third on the 16-team table and stay level on points with their northern rivals Fatima. Jasai Theophilus scored the other goal for QRC.

In St Augustine, hosts St Augustine Secondary (nine points) battled back to get a 1-1 draw with St Mary's College (13 points). St Mary's opened the scoring through an Eran McLeod penalty, only to be thwarted by a goal from St Augustine star Giovanni Hospedales as both teams maintained their unbeaten starts. St Mary's were bumped one spot down to fourth, with St Augustine slipping from sixth to seventh.

Meanwhile, at St Mary's Grounds, St Clair, both Jiovanni Hosanny and Jacquan Phillip dispatched braces as Malick Secondary hammered Carapichaima East Secondary 6-0 in a battle between teams which started the day at the bottom of the table. Malick's big win saw them moving five spots up to tenth, with Carapichaima's sixth straight loss seeing them bringing up the rear in the table with 22 goals already against their name.

Standings:

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

Naparima*5*5*0*0*17*1*16*15

Fatima*5*4*1*0*14*7*7*13

QRC*6*4*1*1*12*10*2*13

St Mary's College*6*3*3*0*20*7*13*12

Presentation (Sando)*5*4*0*1*12*4*8*12

St Benedict's*5*3*0*2*12*8*4*9

St Augustine*5*2*3*0*7*5*2*9

Arima North*6*2*2*2*11*10*1*8

Trinity Moka*6*2*0*4*11*17*-6*6

Malick*5*1*1*3*10*11*-1*4

San Juan North*4*1*1*2*8*10*-2*4

Signal Hill*3*1*0*2*10*7*3*3

St Anthony's College*3*1*1*1*7*7*0*3

Trinity East*6*1*0*5*5*23*-18*3

Scarborough*6*0*2*4*6*18*-12*2

Carapichaima East*6*0*0*6*5*22*-17*0