'Green Machine' edge way to boys' national intercol semis

IN what was a scrappy and at times feisty affair, St Augustine Secondary booked their spot in the Secondary Schools Football League’s (SSFL) boys’ national intercol semifinals for the 2025 season when they got a 1-0 victory over Carapichaima East Secondary at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva on December 2.

The match was settled by a sixth-minute penalty from “Green Machine” talisman and captain Giovanni Hospedales, who calmly rolled in his right-footed spot kick past goalie Jayden Meharris after a handball infringement in the area.

With the pressure reaching its optimum in Balmain in the dying stages of the national intercol quarterfinal, both teams were reduced to ten men after referee Jovann Peters showed straight red cards to Carapichaima’s Keilon Forde and St Augustine’s Elijah Baptiste in the 88th minute after a coming together between the two.

As he tried to latch onto a long ball in a Green Machine counter, Baptiste appeared to inadvertently hit the retreating Forde with a flailing arm, before the defender reacted with a slap to the back of the St Augustine player’s head. Players from both teams had to be separated as tempers flared, with members from the technical staff also leaving the dugout to render assistance in an attempt to ease the tension. When the smoke cleared, Baptiste was issued a straight red, much to the surprise of the St Augustine faithful, with Forde suffering a similar fate.

In the sixth minute of stoppage time, “Caps East” had one last prayer, as St Augustine goalie Tyrese Henry ventured out of his area before banging the ball off an opposing attacker as he tried to clear the danger. Luckily for Henry and St Augustine, the ball bounced around dangerously in the 18-yard box before it was cleared by a retreating defender.

In first-half action, before the tension reached boiling point, both Hospedales and teammate Israel Leonsing had powerful shots well-saved by Meharris, who ensured St Augustine carried a one-goal lead to the halftime break.

Mere seconds after the resumption, Carapichaima’s calls for a penalty were waved away by Peters after Damarion Boswell went down in the area with St Augustine’s Raeland Dillon breathing down his back. Thereafter, the best chance in the game fell to the Green Machine, as Mikel Murray missed a sitter from point-blank range in the 54th minute when a free kick from Naeem Crichlow crashed into the wall, while Hospedales had a long-range shot just kept out by Meharris in the 61st minute.

In the end, Hospedales’ early penalty was all St Augustine needed and they will now meet the rampant south zone intercol champions Naparima College in the national semis at the Ato Boldon venue on November 5. “Naps” romped to the south crown with a 4-0 victory over rivals Presentation College San Fernando in their zonal final on December 1.