14-Nov-2001 : NAPS Beat Benedict's AGAIN!!!!
THE game was almost up when Adrian Paul gave way. Gerol Forbes was en route to goal again courtesy of Ateba McKnight when Paul clipped him from behind. Referee Richard Piper then made him see red after showing him his second yellow card. But red may also have been the colour of his teammate Andre Alexis’s eyes. At the final whistle, the St Benedict’s College lad needed Piper’s sympathetic hand to lift him from off the ground.

Intercol loss had settled heavily upon him. His hope-inspiring second half goal had mounted to nothing more than a statistic. Instead, the "old enemy", Naparima College, were celebrating at his expense. Again. Just as in the League match that opened the season, the "Naps” lads tamed the “La Romaine Lions” 2-1. Their reward is an Intercol South Zone final date with Princes Town Senior Comprehensive. In the second game of the double-header, the last winners of the South Zone crown booked their spot with a 4-0 dismissal of Pleasantville Senior Comprehensive. A first half double from Linsie Sherwood and second half items from Clyde Leon and Sylvester Teesdale did the trick for “P/Town”.In the first game, though, the neutrals, few as they were yesterday at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, would have spared a thought for Alexis. He had been an enthusiastic worker for his side right through the Royal Bank South Zone semi-final knockout game. But dint of effort by Alexis alone could not an Intercol tie win.

The “Lions” simply did not have the game to seriously wound Naparima. The South Zone League champs again played with the kind of versatility that has set them apart from their colleagues down South. Their game, anchored admirably by their sound skipper Fabien Lewis at the back, blossomed as the first half progressed after a quiet start. Then Gerol Forbes made his by now routine entry on the scoresheet. In the 35th minute, he was quick to latch onto the rebound off a Benedict’s defender. And from the left side of the penalty area, hooked his shot past goalkeeper Sadiki Stewart for goal no.18 for the season. The boys in the engine room of the Naparima band stepped up the tempo. So did their team. McKnight almost made it 2-0 with a bullet diving header from an Ateba Forde cross but for Stewart’s fine point-blank stop.

Naps continued to carry the play from the start of the second period. Brenton De Leon, Wendell Joseph, McKnight and Forbes were moving all over the field, making it difficult for the Lions to lay hold of them. Even with partially-fit Nkosi Blackman, on the field as a substitute at the start of the second half, things seemed to improve little for Benedict’s. And in the 70th minute they got worse. Akeil Belfon tripped up the shifty Forbes and Lewis clinically beat Stewart to his But Alexis gave him hope about a minute later when he thumped home a loose ball. Naps had paid for a bit of complacency. And Alexis seemed destined for more glory minutes later when he robbed keeper Shai Prescod of the ball on the edge of his area. But his shot cleared the bar. He lay flat on his back after that. A precious Intercol chance had flown by. Soon hope would, too.

It was seven years ago that Ike Jurawan, Clifton Gomez and their mates made Princes Town Senior Comprehensive zonal and national Intercol kings. But since those heady days in 1994, “P/Town” have endured a kind of football famine. In that time, Naparima College have risen to power in the South. This afternoon’s Royal Bank Intercol South Zone final against “Naps” therefore is about a little more than local bragging rights for Princes Town. It is about a revival.

Princes Town have proven to be the tournament’s dark horses so far. Their unexceptional League campaign ended with them in third place, six points adrift of winners Naparima. But while the P/Town lads were not spectacular, they were solid. Naps, even with prolific national under-17 striker Gerol Forbes in the side, could not score on them when the sides drew 0-0 in Princes Town. In fact, Forbes’s under-17 teammate, goalkeeper Marvin Phillip has conceded just three goals this season in the P/Town goal, all of them in the league. So far in Intercol, Princes Town have netted 13 times without reply. The key to that output has been skilful forward Linsie Sherwood who has netted four times in two games. Sylvester Teesdale has also contributed three goals. In fact, including their final league match against Pleasantville Senior Comprehensive, Princes Town’s goal record in their last three games is 17-2. It is an impressive statistic, perhaps indicative of a team finding their best form.

But Naparima will be an altogether different proposition to Pleasantville and Moruga Composite, Princes Town’s two Intercol opponents so far. Eighteen-goal Forbes and his remarkable scoring run aside, Naparima are an allround team. St Benedict’s College found that out in their 2-1 semifinal loss. They play the most progessive football in the schools game with a fair number of their players showing competence in different positions. How well Princes Town are able to keep track of them will be crucial to the outcome. So will the contest between Forbes and Phillip. It should be a very interesting final.

Naps will feel they have the edge though. This group of Naparima players have the advantage of being seasoned in the big game. This is their fifth final in the last three years. They have lost only one so far. That loss was in their most recent outing against Scarborough Secondary in the Big Four final. That fact in itself cold be either a source of inspiration or a psychological stumbling block. The “Green Hornets” from Princes Town will be hoping it is the latter. They after all have a kingdom to reclaim, a revival to sustain.

Sunday, November 18th 2001: Naparima grabs South InterCol title

NAPARIMA showed yesterday that in the twinkle of an eye the complexion of a game could change.
With its back against the wall, Naparima pulled off a late 2-0 win over a dogged Princes Town outfit to lift the InterCol title in the South Zone at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella. The South champion found the going rough throughout the match and only found the net in the 89th minute and in added-on time - both goals coming off deflections, the first from a shot from Wendell Joseph and the second a header from Ateba McKnight. "I couldn't see them scoring on us," said a joyful coach Jan Steadman at the end of the game which Princes Town dominated.

Admitting that his opponents took control of the match, Steadman said: "I knew it was just a matter of time. We went into the match with some problems on the left because of an injury to Ancil Farrier. "Because of this, I had to change the team. And, also McKnight was nursing an injury and I did not want to play him." Prince Town's captain Dean Logan felt that his team had the match in the bag and that Naparima was lucky to come out the winner.

"It was very upsetting. We really fought hard and played the best we could. You'll see us again in the quarterfinals in the National InterCol and expect plenty more to come."
McKnight and the League's leading goalscorer Gerol Forbes were kept in check by the determined Princes Town defence marshalled by Anthony Noreiga.

After numerous chances, especially by Princes Town, Joseph broke the "goal jink" in the second to last minute when he rifled a 40-yard free-kick that came off the upright, hit a diving goalkeeper Marvin Phillip on his foot, and trickled over the goalline.
Then, in injury time McKnight hit the crossbar, as Phillip got a touch of the ball before it went over the touchline.
The resulting corner taken by Brenton de Leon landed straight on the head of McKnight, whose effort rebounded off a defender before entering the net.

Nothing exciting happened in the match until the 16th minute when De Leon brought out the best in Phillip, who strained every muscle to tip the high shot overbar.The finishing of both teams left much to be desired and Princes Town, more than "Naps", paid the penalty.

Sunday, November 18th 2001: Naps deliver knockout (Second Report)

PRINCES TOWN Senior Comprehensive had been going toe-to-toe with the champions all afternoon. They might even have won a split decision. But captain Dean Logan and his team did not knock Naparima College out. And just before the final bell, they got caught cold.

Watap!

One minute from regulation time in the Royal Bank South Zone InterCol final, Wendell Joseph let loose with a low, low scorcher of a free-kick that sped past the Princes Town wall. The missile beat sprawling Marvin Phillip’s gloved fingertips, smashed against the base of the left upright, rebounded onto the goalkeeper’s back and dropped over the line.

Clax!

About a minute into injury time, Ateba McKnight’s right-foot cracker was somehow deflected onto the crossbar and away for a corner by the leaping Phillip. But from the left-side kick, menacing McKnight beat him. This time with his head. No furniture got in the way this time. So went the first zonal final since 1994—2-0 to “Naps”. A fascinating contest at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella had been won at the death with two deadly body blows. Sitting in the goal upon the final whistle, refusing to be shifted, Phillip could not believe it. For 269 minutes in this competition, the national under-17 standout and his defence had been unbeatable. But in as tight and testing a contest as one could wish, the class of defending national champs told again.

“P/Town”, the southern dark houses and the last winners of this title, were worthy challengers. A team with a sound, impressive defence and a promising, attacking game when they spread it along the wings, the “Green Hornets” from Princes Town seemed to have all the necessary weapons. Except a fatal sting. In a contest of precious few goal-mouth chances, P/Town produced very little to worry Shai Prescod in the Naparima goal. But it was the way they matched, even neutralised, Naps over the first two-thirds of the park that made for good viewing. But the large, musical crowd that viewed the first half had to be content with a goalless session.

McKnight, though, very nearly changed the picture in the 43rd minute when, finding a rare bit of space on the right side of the penalty area, he struck the near post. Playing deep, he had as much success getting through as did versatile wide man Brenton De Leon and Gerol Forbes and Joseph up front. Logan, hovering in front of his back three, gave good supporting cover for Princes Town. The searching examination continued into the second half, the ever-dangerous McKnight then switching places with Joseph. But the successful P/Town resistance forced defender Clint De Verteuil to increasingly venture into attack in an attempt to force a slip. As the half progressed, though, it was Logan and his mates who began to camp in the opposition half. But shifty Linsie Sherwood and strike partner Clyde Teesdale could not find their range. Not that captain Fabien Lewis, De Verteuil and Kareem Simon gave them the chance. Extra time seemed on the cards. The P/Town rhythm section and the Naps band were readying themselves for another set when breakaway McKnight went down under a challenge about 25 metres from goal. That was when the bell tolled for Phillip.

Soon Naps were winners. And still the champs.

21-Nov-2001: Playoff time in Intercol.

The Zonal season has already produced the winning feeling for both Naparima and St Anthony’s Colleges. And over the next two days, that feeling could grow.

Today, the first of the national playoffs in Royal Bank Intercol kick off with South Zone winners Naparima facing North Zone runners-up Malick Secondary at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella in the lone preliminary match. And tomorrow in a national quarterfinal, North champs St Anthony’s tackle losing East/Central Zone finalists Arima Senior Comprehensive. The rescheduled Tobago final between Scarborough Secondary and Signal Hill Senior Comprehensive is also carded for tomorrow at the Dwight Yorke Stadium. That match, to decide which of the teams from the sister isle goes straight into the semifinals, should be a keen game. Scarborough, the national Big Four League champs, are the rising Tobago power and full of promise. Signal Hill are the traditional Tobago giants, trying to restore their wounded pride. Especially, they will be keen to redress the 2-0 loss they suffered against Scarborough in the first round of zonal League action. The 2-2 draw the teams played to in the second round, was not satisfaction enough.

There will not be quite the same local passion bubbling between Naparima and Malick this afternoon. Except that the sides are two of the current powers in schools football. “Naps” though, will start as favourites. History is on their side. Twice in the last two seasons, the teams have met in the national semifinals. Twice Naparima won and went on to claim the title. Their zonal League and Intercol triumphs and their appearance in the Big Four final this season are testimony to their continued strength. Last Saturday's display, when Naparima weathered steady second half pressure from Princes Town Senior Comprehensive before snatching South Intercol with two late goals, was more impressive evidence of their potency.

Malick therefore cannot afford to waste whatever chances they get today, as has been their habit this season. The Morvant team have had their title hopes both in the zonal League and Intercol dashed by errant shooting. Marvin Lee, Kevon Henry and Hayden Tinto must be sharper if Malick are to have a chance. Even then, that may not be enough to stop the Naps machine.
Arima too may find the going rough tomorrow. They have lived in the shadow of El Dorado Secondary in East/Central this season and don’t look to have the power to repel talented St Anthony’s. On Friday, ElDo play Princes Town in the second national quarterfinal.

22nd-Nov-2001: Naps Show Spirit , Malick pay the penalty
Naparima 1 Mailick 1 Penalty Kicks 4:3

AFTER 85 minutes, Malick Secondary’s Jamal Simmons scuffed a one-on-one with Naparima College goalkeeper Shai Prescod. That would have made the score 2-0 and put the match beyond “Naps”.Simmons would be made to remember that error at the end of regulation time. Injury time had begun when a clearance from the back saw Naparima’s Ateba Mc Knight sneak past Zambo Swift and thread a pass through to Wendell Joseph who finished calmly past goalkeeper Stephen Edwards to send the game into sudden-death extra-time.

And after that period produced no golden goal, Joseph again made the difference with the kick that finalised a 4-3 win on penalties for the defending Intercol champions in a dramatic Royal Bank national preliminary encounter at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium yesterday.
Weeping uncontrollably, Malick’s Marvin Lee watched as Shai Prescod saved a weak effort from Malick’s last kicker Andre Joseph to send his Naps teammates into frenzied celebration.

Attempting to comfort the desconsolate Lee-who had also missed at his turn in the penalty shootout was Simmons. But as in their zonal final against St Anthony’s last week, Malick had no one but themselves to blame for this latest loss. In a game they dominated, they failed to make the best of their opportunities. The first period was a good example of their inability to seize the moment. Neutralising the effect of Naps creative link Wendell Joseph and Brenton De Leon, Malick effectively shut down the service to their prolific scorers Jerol Forbes and Mc Knight.

At the other end, Lee and Kevon Henry were being constantly fed by the speedy Hayden Tinto on the right flank. But twice the Malick strikers failed to score First, Tinto sped to the byline past Andrew Tuitt and crossed to Henry but the stocky forward hit straight at Prescod from six metres out. Then Tinto, one-on-one with the advancing keeper, lobbed overbars with just the keeper to beat. Tinto finally made amends in the second period. The nifty forward benefitted from a Clint De Verteuil swipe-and-miss in the area and this time weighed his lob pertfectly to give Prescod no chance after 73 minutes.

With Malick still having the better of possession, Naparima’s Kareem Simon struck the crossbar from the “D”. Then Simmons muffed a chance before Joseph kept Naps alive in the dying moments. Sudden-death extra time could not determine a winner. And after three successful conversions in the shootout, Malick’s inaccurate kicking let them down again. Lee and Joseph, their pain doubled, had paid the ultimate penalty.

29-Nov-2001 Naps continue the Spirit of Champions, Brave Carrington falls short
Naparima 2 Scarborough Comp. 1
.
29-Nov-2001 - MICHAEL Carrington brought Scarborough Secondary within a whisker of a remarkable comeback in their Royal Bank Intercol national semifinal with Naparima College on Tuesday night at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella. It would have been one of the come-from-behind stories of the season. However, despite putting a tremendous scare in their opponents, both Carrington and the 2001 Big Four champions Scarborough fell short by a 2-1 margin to the defending national Knockout champions.

“Naps” seemed to be cruising effortlessly towards the final after Ateba Forde (24th) and Gerol Forbes (80th) had put them into a seemingly unattainable lead. But Carrington, the Tobago’s team’s best player on the night, turned up the pressure and Naps almost wilted. Methodical and composed throughout most of the encounter, Naps were truly rattled in the final minutes and only just held on.
First Carrington slotted past goalkeeper Shai Prescod to reduce the lead in the 89th minute.

And later, he came close to scoring again on two occasions in added-on time. Carrington seemed to have only given Scarborough a meaningless consolation when he scored. But a minute later, Carrington bore down menacingly on Prescod's near post forcing immediate attention from the defence. The Scarborough midfielder intelligently turned away from the pressure and only just missed the exposed far side of the goal when shooting with the weaker left foot. Naparima had dogged a bullet. But even more drama was to come, and even more hard-luck for the Tobagonians. This time, Carrington collected the ball with his back turned to goal, but still managed to swivel and rock goalie Prescod’s crossbar with a right-footed drive. Frantic Naparima feet eventually cleared the danger. Naparima had not always been this desperate. Earlier on, their drums were booming harder than anything heard this season and their frenzied supporters waited in anticipation. But the match would be a hard slog. Devon Leacock and Carrington both went inches wide of goal for Scarborough early on.

At the other end, Scarborough goalie Lewis Forde was forced into a sprint to beat Naparima's Brenton De Leon to a through pass. And when Kerwyn Richards breached his defence in the 22nd minute, the Scarborough goalie must have been relieved to see Richard’s drive, whizz overbar. At that stage, it seemed like one of those games where the teams needed a little luck to make the breakthrough. Ateba Forde seemed intent on creating his own luck and appeared to have forcibly pushed a defender out of the way before creating Naparima's opening goal in the 24th minute, the ball going in off the unfortunate Scarborough lad. Both teams battled with little reward until Gerol Forbes finished clinically to put Naparima two goals up. Ironically, Roderick Anthony should have given Scarborough an equaliser seconds before. But after collecting down the centre of the penalty area, Anthony hit his hurried shot wide. Immediately from the counter-attack, the ball was crossed to Forbes who clinically volleyed it past Prescod. Naps were in control — until Carrington started to misbehave.

30-Nov-2001: Naparima and Princes Town rumble in Intercol final

"I going down San Fernando, down dey have plenty tempo" was how Calypso Rose sang. Today, that will be the same words coming from local football fans as Princes Town Senior Comprehensive and Naparima College will do battle in an all-south affair in the final of the 2001 Royal Bank Intercol series at Manny Ramjohn Stadium from 4:30pm.

The "Green Hornets" are carrying their best form for the season and will be seeking not only for revenge on a 1-0 defeat in the South Zone final earlier this season, but also for consecutive defeats in the national final in 1998 and 1999. Led by coach Louis Bobcombe, P/Town will be looking to the services of Linsie Sherwood who produced the goal of the season to equalize against St Anthony's College in the semi-final match on Tuesday. Winning goalscorer Andre Pacheco will also carry some goalscoring responsibility with the likes of defender Anthony Noreiga, captain Dean Logan, Sherwin Gene and Sylvester Teesdale hoping to impress on the day that matters most. With National Under 17 goalkeeper Marvin Phillip standing between the uprights, the "Hornets" will be aiming to sting only on this occasion.

As for "Naps" this stage is an all to familiar one for them and defending the crown will not be a new task either. Striker Ateba McKnight will be hoping to show good form having just earned a call up for training on the TnT Senior team. Coach Jan Steadman's team have produced the plays and goals at vital moments this season and their fans will surely be expecting the same today. TnT Under 17 striker Jerol Forbes and company will be well prompted not to underestimate their opponents as the ingredients are there for an interesting and exciting final.

Final Matchup Naparima vs Princes Town : Head To Head Articles

A Studio Bazodee Production Site Optimized forIE 4+
Site First Developed on September 1997. Visitors since then 11057 hits
Site Revamped in June 2000, November 2000, since then 3250 hits
Major Redesign on September 23 2000, upon purchase of Domain Name