By Roneil Walcott
Copyright newsday
Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) premier division holders Fatima College will commence their title defence for the 2025 campaign on September 17 when they take on the newly-promoted Scarborough Secondary in Tobago.
All eight matches on matchday two will kick off at 3.30 pm, and Fatima will be looking to continue the momentum from their Super Cup win over rivals St Benedict’s College at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo on September 12. The teams played to a goalless draw, before Fatima won the match 4-2 on kicks from the penalty mark.
Meanwhile, Scarborough had quite the exciting start to life in the premier division when they played to a gripping 3-3 draw against east zone giants Arima North Secondary on September 13. Jaden Pope scored a brace and opened Scarborough’s premier division with a rocket of a right-footed shot from outside the area. Pope and company will do well to manufacture a similar result against the Fatima team who have now captured the last two premier division titles.
At the Arima Velodrome, southern giants Naparima College will definitely be keen to get back to the playing park after a thumping 7-0 win over Trinity College East (TCE), and are expected to face a stern test when they journey to the east to face Arima North.
At Serpentine Road in St Clair, St Mary’s College will aim to build on their strong second-half performance from their clash with old rivals Queen’s Royal College when they host the newly-promoted Carapichaima East Secondary. Last year’s central zone championship division winners Carapichaima didn’t have the best of outings on matchday one as they were spanked 4-1 by fellow promoted team Trinity College Moka.
At Mahaica Oval in Point Fortin, St Benedict’s, who were stripped of last season’s premier division title honours for their improper use and registration of SSFL 2024 Player of the Year Derrel Garcia, will start their 2025 premier division quest against QRC.
In the televised match, St Anthony’s College will tackle Malick Secondary in an appetising clash between two northern teams who finished third and tenth respectively last season.
At Bourg Mulatresse, reigning east zone Intercol champs San Juan North Secondary will meet their old foes St Augustine Secondary in a game which should be a treat for the neutrals. St Augustine started their league campaign with a 2-1 win over Malick.
In other matches, Signal Hill Secondary will take on Trinity Moka at Signal Hill’s school compound in Tobago, while south powerhouse Presentation College San Fernando will take on a TCE outfit which will hope to rebound from their humiliating loss to “Naps” on the opening day of the premier division campaign.
