Not even Paul, the 2010 FIFA World Cup octopus, could have predicted the outcome of the Fatima College-St. Anthony's College clash for the Secondary Schools Football League at Fatima Grounds, Mucurapo, on Saturday

An entertaining matchup of skills and playing prowess indeed, it was the St. Anthony's Tigers who got the better of the hosts, Fatima, through a sweet 2-1 victory. But it must be known, the win wasn't an easy one.

Clearly, it could have gone either way, as both teams put up a good fight. For the first 20 minutes of the game, surprisingly, it was the visitors and not the hosts who triggered the attack.

With more ball possession and two Adrian Millet lead corner kicks, the Tigers had domain.

A shot at goal from Tobago import and former Signal Hill midfielder Darryl Trim sent the fans into frenzy, but their celebrations were aborted as nothing was spared by the agile Fatima goalkeeper, Kieron Matthews.

Later into the first half, gutsy runs up the right flank by skipper Trey Hart and penetrating passes courtesy of favourite Zavier Rajpaul were enough to inject some pep into Fatima's offense. Notwithstanding the gallant efforts of both teams, the half remained goalless.

In the second half, the real battle began as both outfits came on the field with a new vigour. A penalty, thanks to an infringement only 10 minutes into the second half, gave Jamal Garcia his chance to put St. Anthony's on the score sheet, but he was unlucky.

Another strike came from Karamulla Nasset for the Tigers, but Matthews reigned supreme once more. It was Fatima who commenced the scoring, with Joshwa Ramdoo slipping a magnificent volley into the nets, leaving St. Anthony's keeper Jammal Francois in awe.

In response, chaos erupted true "Intercol" style as the fans in blue stormed onto the field, a miscalculation indeed for the Red Tiger supporters who believed they had an easy rival. Hurt egos, however, led to a more proactive St. Anthony's attack, which was met by a stubborn Fatima defence orchestrated by the strong and sturdy Shaquille McDonald.

In the 35th minute, St. Anthony's replied as the deficit was paid and the score evened to 1-1 via a Shaquelle Long volley from 25 yards. Fatima's hunger for goals was resurrected once more, but further attempts from the talented threesome - Rajpaul, Hart and Ramdoo - proved fruitless.

It was the brilliant vision and skillful maneuvers of the talented Trim and a followup on a rebound off Matthews that sealed the victory for St. Anthony's a mere 5 minutes before the final blast of the whistle.

Fatima's final response came via a Ramdoo drive up the left wing toward a composed St. Anthony's defence, but his work was all in vain as Francois played his role of custodian of the nets all too well. In the end, St. Anthony's was the deserving captor of the game point.

Despite their brave showing, the Fatima boys in blue left feeling blue, but this may not be for long, as the tournament has just kicked off and they just may regain their composure against Mucurapo Secondary on Wednesday on their home grounds.

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