In a fiercely contested national intercol quarterfinal match characterized by physical intensity and dramatic late-game ejections, St Augustine Secondary School advanced to the SSFL boys’ semifinals with a narrow 1-0 victory against Carapichaima East Secondary. The decisive moment occurred in the sixth minute when captain Giovanni Hospedales converted a penalty kick with clinical precision after a handball violation in the box.
The match escalated dramatically in the 88th minute when a physical altercation between St Augustine’s Elijah Baptiste and Carapichaima’s Keilon Forde resulted in straight red cards for both players. The incident began when Baptiste’s attempted control of a long ball resulted in accidental contact with Forde, who responded with a retaliatory strike to the head. The confrontation required intervention from both teams and technical staff to restore order.
Despite being reduced to ten men, St Augustine maintained their defensive composure during extended stoppage time. Goalkeeper Tyrese Henry faced a critical moment when his clearance attempt rebounded off an attacker, creating a dangerous scramble in the penalty area that was ultimately cleared by his defenders.
Carapichaima East had earlier appealed for a penalty seconds after halftime when Damarion Boswell went down under pressure from Raeland Dillon, but referee Jovann Peters dismissed the claims. St Augustine created several additional scoring opportunities, with Mikel Murray missing a close-range chance in the 54th minute and Hospedales seeing a long-range effort saved by Carapichaima goalkeeper Jayden Meharris, who delivered multiple impressive stops throughout the match.
The victory sets up a semifinal confrontation between St Augustine and south zone champions Naparima College, who demonstrated their offensive prowess with a 4-0 win in their zonal final. The upcoming match will determine which team advances to the national championship final.