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| 14th October 99 : Naps Win Intercol | ||||||||
| 18th November 99 NAPS DOUBLE and AWARDS | ||||||||
| 1st November 00 Naps Second in League, Benedicts Win! 20th November 00 Naps in Intercol Final > Naps Wins | ||||||||
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THE 2000 Royal Bank Intercol final will be a clash between
the North and the South. For Mucurapo, however, it will be their first chance since 1983 to register another lien on the coveted title. In yesterday's semifinal, ElDorado, whose last success in the Intercol series was back in 1986, gave a good account of themselves. But several missed opportunities—including a penalty—and some poor finishing were mainly responsible for their downfall. The game got under way in pouring rain which left pools of water on the ground that made ball control very difficult. But as was the case in their quarterfinal match against St Mary's College at the same venue last week, ElDo were the first to settle down. Kieve Van Loo, Junior Pamponette and Sterling Obrian made several early raids on the Mucurapo goal but on each occasion they found the defence, marshalled by Paul Pantin with support from Dave Nicholas, Akil Weekes and Brizan Arneaud, very difficult to get by. In the 27th minute of play, the "Blue Thunder" missed a great opportunity to take the lead when referee Neil Brizan ordered a penalty after Van Loo was brought down in the area by a Mucurapo defender. The pom-pom girls from ElDo and the large group of their supporters started to celebrate but they were soon silenced when Mucurapo's custodian Dorrance Williams leapt high to his right to push the Ochieng Abosi's shot over the bar. One minute later, Abosi had an opportunity to make amends and put his team ahead. Receiving a neat pass from Pamponette inside the six-metre box, he contrived to put his shot straight at the keeper. Mucurapo, however, took the lead in the 41st minute against the run of play with what turned out to be the winner. It came from the penalty spot after striker Kevon Carter broke loose and raced down the right side only to be brought down with a vicious tackle from Joey Carter. Anton Joseph made no mistake from the spot, beating ElDo's keeper Cecil Thomas with a low well placed shot into the far right-hand corner of the net. After the interval, Mucurapo came out the more positive and business-like of the teams, getting to the ball faster than their opponents in the early stages. Surviving the early onslaught, ElDo bounced back into the game, launching several raids on their opponents' goal. It was only as some brilliant goalkeeping by the two custodians and solid defence work that kept the scoreline unchanged. Mucurapo should have increased their lead late in the proceedings when they were awarded another penalty. But Joseph, called up to take the kick again, saw Thomas fling himself to his right to push the ball around the post. An elated Mucurapo coach, former national defender Selris Figaro said after the match that he was always confident that his team would make it to the final. "I knew it was there," he told the Daily Express. "As a matter of fact we should have won the league as well."
The lone goal yesterday was scored by Anton Joseph in the 42nd minute from the penalty spot. Joseph's penalty was one of three awarded by referee Neil Brizan in the match which was played in pouring rain for the first 30 minutes. Following a careful start by both sides, Mucurapo's Akil Pierre had the first two tries at goal - one in the 10th minute, the other in the 14th. But his shots missed the upright by inches. El Do's forward Ochieng Abosi had the first penalty of the match in the 20th minute saved by goalkeeper Daurance Williams, who fisted the ball overbar. It was his first miss from the spot in five kicks this season. The spot kick was awarded when Kieve Vanloo was pulled down by Akil Weekes on the edge of the area. Two minutes after the miss, Abosi got a chance to redeem himself. But, after receiving a tailor-made pass from Vanloo just outside the six-yard box, his shot was saved by Williams with his feet. Soon afterwards, referee Brizan penalised El Do's left-back Joey Arthur for tripping Kevon Carter while he was making a surging run started on the right flank. Joseph was asked by coach Figaro to take the kick and he calmly walked up to the ball and slotted it low and away to the right of 'keeper Cecil Thomas. On the stroke of halftime, Sterling O'Brian looked on in awe as his shot grazed the Mucurapo upright with Williams well beaten. But for the first 15 minutes after the break the game went to pieces and the crowd had nothing to cheer about. The momentum eventually picked up midway in the half after Joseph dribbled three players and shot with his favourite left foot, the ball having to be turned around the post by Thomas. Speedy Kevon James was causing all sorts of problems in
the Mucurapo defence, and from one of his crosses, striker Junior Pamponette
failed to get a touch to the ball on the last post. In the 83rd minute,
Mucurapo had a chance of increasing its lead when Brizan awarded a penalty
for a handled ball by Terrance Mc Allister. Again, Joseph took the kick.
But this time his chest high shot was to the right of Thomas, who dived
full length to turn it around the post. North, South, East, West, Naparima is the best! went the chorus from the chortling schoolboys on hand. And they were right. For the second straight year and the fifth time in their history, the South Zone school had been crowned national Intercol kings. Only Signal Hill Senior Comprehensive and San Fernando Technical Institute have so much silverware. And Naps completed their full hand with a side reduced to ten men. Come next year, I want to add more to it,” gratified Naps coach Jan Steadman remarked at the end. McKnight, though, could not see beyond yesterday and his sweet, 16th goal of the season. That priceless item made him, along with Alvin Rostant of the 1970s Technical, part of a rare group of players to have scored in two Intercol finals. Last season against Princes Town, McKnight also gave Naps the win. And yesterday, he again proved to be Naparima’s man of the moment. For in a tight match on a tough pitch, he produced the inspiration that had been patently absent all afternoon. After taking a pounding two days earlier in the World Cup fixture between Trinidad and Tobago and Panama, the surface provided a greasy, heavy test for the two teams. The Mucurapo players especially struggled to keep their footing, far less construct meaningful attacks. And in the opening 20 minutes, they laboured to get out of their own half. Naparima, though, were no more successful with getting the ball on target and the first half passed tamely. But the stakes were raised eight minutes into the second period when Naparima defender Kareem Simon was ejected for his second booking, a late tackle on Shawn Andrews. The Mucurapo players seemed elated. But the adversity only made the southerners dig deeper. Showing the character that has marked their last two seasons, they pressed on, Jace Peters dropping back into midfield leaving Mc Knight on his own up front. Despite increased possession, Compre could not make their advantage count. Striker Kevon Carter was livid with himself when Akil Pierre, having spotted his diagonal run to the right side of the penalty area, slipped him a pass from which he shot onto the crossbar. It was no time for mistakes. But Naps creator Dia Hunte also made one when having weaved his way into the 18-metre box near the byline, he opted to shoot rather than square across the area. In that moment the bit of inspiration the game desperately needed seemed to have gone. But coach Steadman still had one last card to play. Two minutes from regulation time, he sent on Forbes. No sooner had the sub reached the left side of midfield, he was darting toward the byline, on his run of runs. Over came the cross and two Compre defenders watched as if mesmerised. Then the knight swooped, preserving the kingdom Naps are building. Teams: Naparima: Clint De Verteuil (Capt), Shai Prescod, Kareem Simon (red card), Lyndel Pompey, Fabien Lewis, Brenton De Leon (Gerol Forbes), Ateba Forde (Wendell Joseph), Roderick Anthony, Dia Hunte, Jace Peters, Ateba McKnight. Mucurapo: Daurance Williams (Capt), Paul Pantin, Dave
Nicholas, Akil Weekes, Bryan Arneaud, Akil Mark, Anton Joseph, Akil Pierre
(Nkosi Strong), Shawn Andrews (Revin Samuel), Kevon Carter, Garvin Gulston
(Ijana Mark).
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