Signal Hill Secondary beat Bishop's High 1-0 on Sunday in the Coca Cola girls Intercol Tobago final at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet.
The refereeing was stern in the extremely wet conditions, and the teams were predominantly reliant on long balls to threaten their opposition, in the tightly contested affair.
The drenched surface favoured Signal Hill, as their superior physical presence was evident on both ends of the field.
Signal Hill's defenders easily nullified Bishop's strikers who were constantly bumped off the ball.
The first half ended goalless and it took a special moment to break the deadlock.
A right-sided corner from Madison Campbell, in the 61st minute, left her boots and sailed into the roof of the net, giving the goalkeeper no chance.
Campbell's goal proved to be the match winner, and presented a double celebration for Signal Hill, as the boys had earlier celebrated their intercol title.
Signal Hill's coach Ray Mitchell said it was satisfactory performance and credited the extra work on set plays as a key factor in the result.
'We were constantly practising free-kicks, corners and penalties, because our plan was to wear them down from set plays.
With respect to the playing conditions Mitchell added, 'We were comfortable with the conditions. Our training ground has been heavy for a long period due to rain - the stadium ground is actually better - so it was normal for us.'
The Bishop's supporters did have their moment to savour, as the boys rebounded from their opening 2-1 loss to St Mary's College in the Tiger Tank Big 5, to settle a 3-2 win over Siparia West Secondary, in the second match of the doubleheader.
Siparia struck first with a firm shot from a counterattack rebounded off the goal keeper, and Brandon Ramgarid was in the right spot to tap home in the 18th minute.
The set-back for Bishop's only lasted 11 minutes, as Malik Wilson capitalised on a quick free-kick, which caught the Siparia team off-guard, and made them pay in the 39th minute.
The two minutes added-on time at the end of the first half was fruitful for Bishop's, as Aaron James gave them the lead just before the whistle.
Akel Vesprey partially silenced the rhythm section of partisan home support with Siparia's equaliser on 66 minutes.
Malik Wilson turned out to be the toast for Bishop's on the day, as his second goal in the 70th minute secured the victory for the Tobago Secondary Schools Football League champions.
Bishop's sit third on the standings and will next play Miracle Ministries in Trinidad on Wednesday and Arima North in Tobago on Sunday.
The post Madison Campbell fires Signal Hill to Tobago Intercol title appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.
