PRESENTATION College (San Fernando) coach Shawn Cooper says his team will be playing "another final" when they meet table-toppers St Benedict's College (32 points) in round 13 action of the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) premier division at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella on October 23.
All seven premier division games on the day will kick off at 3.30 pm, but the televised clash between the second-placed Presentation (28 points) and St Benedict's has greater significance as the reigning national intercol champions look to close the gap on the unbeaten, runaway "La Romaine Lions."
Presentation have played 11 games and have a match in hand on Benedict's. And with a favourable result against their southern rivals, Presentation can cut the deficit to one point and take the title challenge into their own hands.
With clashes against the relegation-threatened Trinity College East and rivals Naparima College among their remaining games, Cooper said his "Pres Lions" can ill-afford to be fixated on Benedict's.
"Every game is a must-win game for us. We still have some key games. Not just for us, but the opponents as well," Cooper told Newsday.
"All the games are just as important because we don't want to put everything on the St Benedict's game. If we win the Benedict's game and don't pay much attention to the other games, we could still end up falling short. We have taken every game – for the last three away games – as finals."
Presentation and Benedict's met in the last two south zone intercol finals, with Benedict's getting a penalty shootout win in 2022, before the former school got a 1-0 win in last year's finale en route to copping the national title.
Benedict's had a ten-game winning run stopped on October 19 when they played to a surprise 1-1 draw with Signal Hill Secondary. Cooper is quite wary of Benedict's threat, though, which includes TT under-20 attacker Derrel "Zum Zum" Garcia, who has scored ten goals so far this season.
"The thing with Benedict's is that they have several match-winners. Some people may place everything on Garcia, but then they have other key players. The entire team will be a dangerous one. This is why they are so difficult to play," Cooper said.
Cooper said his team's own strengths this season have come through their attacking play, and their tally of 28 goals is only bettered by the high-scoring Fatima College (37 goals). He said attacking players such as Isaiah Jacob, Caleb Boyce and Vaughn Clement, who bagged a double in a win over San Juan North Secondary in their last game, have stepped up to the plate this season.
"It's just another game with some importance in it. We're not placing too much (emphasis) on the game," he said. "Yes, it's a rivalry. It's a football game...it will be an entertaining game because they will be coming to win the game also."
At the end of their round 13 match, the path to the title will become a lot clearer for one of these south giants.
In St Clair, the third-placed Fatima (26 points) will try to make ground on the top
