Naps advance on penalty kicks

IT took kicks from the penalty spot to separate South champions Naparima and East Zone runners-up, the “Green Machine” St Augustine in their RBTT National Intercol preliminary round match at Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, yesterday. And in the end, it was Naps who will advance to the next stage following a 3-1 penalty shoot-out victory, after the teams played to a 2-2 draw in regulation and extra-time. Naps were ahead after 15 minutes of play, when St Augustine’s goalkeeper Devon Charles misjudged a Stephen Byer header (which struck the bar), leaving Kezi Lara on hand to supply a pass to Brenton de Leon to tap home. The Green Machine spurned two chances in the first half, with fleet-footed striker Shane Calderon hitting the bar in the 26th and Terrence Williams skying overbar in the 41st.

Naps seemed well-placed at 2-0 in the 53rd when, from a square pass from De Leon, Kern Robertson shot home on the second attempt, past Charles. But the mean Green Machine began to rev in the 72nd, when Marcus Ambrose pulled one back, after keeper Cieron Millette saved a low drive by Calderon. And two minutes later, Aaron Peters knotted up the scores, sending a low 20-metre freekick past Millette, to the delight of the few St Augustine supporters who made the trip to the stadium. The teams attacked and counter-attacked swiftly in search of a winner which never came. Calderon had two chances in the 82nd, with Millette parrying his first attempt and the follow-up shot hitting the bar, allowing Naps to hold out despite the expulsion of substitute striker Ateba Forde in the 96th by referee Ted Gordon. In the shootout Ancil Farrier, Kezi Lara and captain Lyndel Pompey got goals for Naps while Williams got the lone goal for the Green Machine.