DAVID SCARLETT
NAPARIMA kicked off the 2022 edition of the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Premier Division in style as they bulldozed St Augustine 9-1 on Wednesday evening.
The reigning champions showed no mercy against their eastern opponents, netting goals from as early as the 10th minute.
St Augustine, known as the "Green Machine", opened the scoring six minutes in as Marcel Valentine capitalised on a defensive mistake from Naparima's back line, and the attacker comfortably rounded the goalkeeper and placed the ball into the back of the net.
However, it didn’t take long for Naparima to draw level. Josiah Cooper strongly headed the ball in after receiving a well-placed corner kick four minutes later. Fifteen minutes later, Omari Campbell put ‘Naps’ in front following another corner kick; this time bundling the ball over the goal-line after a scrimmage in the goal area.
Nathaniel O’Garro netted the third for Naparima in the 33rd minute before scoring his brace four minutes later. Naparima got a fifth goal in the 39th minute, thanks to Kanye Francis, and a second goal from Campbell in the 43rd minute made it 6-1 at the break.
The second half did not bring St Augustine any more joy as Naparima scored a seventh through Andres France in the 48th minute. Israel Joseph and Terrell Rajoon then scored in the 69th and 75th respectively, to give Naparima their biggest ever win in the Premiership, beating their previous record of 8-2 (versus Trinity College Moka in 2017).
Naps remain unbeaten in the league since September 16, 2017.
Last week’s Tiger Tanks Cup winners, Presentation San Fernando, also began their campaign with a victory, although not as thrilling as their bitter rivals. The "Pres Lions" edged Trinity East 1-0 in a cagey encounter at their school’s home ground courtesy a strike from their captain, Caleb Boyce, in the 72nd minute.
Presentation's coach, Shawn Cooper, believes that the league will be difficult for all teams as some schools have employed high-quality coaches, such as Travis Mulraine (Naparima College) and Kenwyne Jones (Queen’s Royal College). Nevertheless, Cooper is confident that his team can compete for the title this season.
Elsewhere, St Benedict’s were held to a 1-1 draw by newly-promoted Fatima College at the Moruga Sporting Complex, 2019 Intercol finalists San Juan North stormed past Queen’s Royal College 5-1 in San Juan, St Anthony’s beat Pleasantville 2-0, Speyside whipped Carapichaima East 5-0 away from home, Malick got past Chaguanas North 4-1, and East Mucurapo were comfortable 5-1 victors against Moruga Secondary.
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