ISAIAH Lee scored a hat-trick to lead Terminix La Horquetta Rangers to a crushing victory over Moruga FC in the Ascension Football tournament at La Horquetta Recreation Grounds, on Friday.
Lee scored in the seventh minute, 39th minute and 57th minute to guide Rangers to a convincing 11-2 victory.
Also finding the back of the net for Rangers were captain Jamal Creighton (tenth), Junior Asson (18th, 45th+1), Akim Andrews (46th, 59th), Ataulla Guerra (71st) and Ross Russell Jnr (82nd).
Yahtham Henry scored an own goal for Moruga in the 60th minute.
Moruga showed more promise in the first half as after 30 minutes Rangers held on to a slim 3-2 lead.
Atiba Charles scored in the 17th minute and Jeremy Carter converted in the 30th minute for Moruga FC.
Rangers scored two more goals in the first half to take a 5-2 advantage at halftime, before a dominant performance in the second half gave the home team a comfortable win.
Rangers moved to the top of the standings after three matches.
In the earlier match at La Horquetta Recreation Grounds, Defence Force and Deportivo Point Fortin played to a 1-1 draw.
On Saturday, a double header was held at Arima Velodrome. Central FC played Real West Fort FC and Central Soccer World battled AC Port of Spain.
On Sunday, Cunupia FC will be aiming for a victory against Police FC at the St James Police Barracks at 5 pm. Three points for Cunupia FC will see the unit return to the top of the standings.
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Lee nets beaver trick in Rangers’ 11-2 rout.
By Nigel Simon (T&T Guardian).
Isaiah Lee netted the first beaver trick of the Ascension Football League while Junior Assoon and Ross Russell Jr added a brace each as La Horquetta Rangers routed cellar-placed Moruga FC 11-2 in the feature match of a double-header at the Phase II La Horquetta Recreation Ground on Friday night.
With the win, Rangers moved to the top of the ten-team table with seven points from three matches, one ahead of Cunupia FC who meets Police FC at the St James Police Barracks Training Ground, Long Circular Road, St James, today (Sunday) from 5 pm while defending champions Defence Force sits in third with five points after a lacklustre 1-1 draw with Deportivo Point Fortin in Friday’s opening match.
In Friday’s feature match, the goals came fast and furious and from early on as Lee fired Rangers ahead in the sixth minute before captain Jamal Creighton made it 2-0 in the ninth minute off a feed from former national Under-20 standout Kadeem Corbin who had a hand in no fewer than four of his team’s goals on the night.
Moruga FC coached by former national women’s player Dernelle Mascall did show some fight early on and pulled a goal back in the 16th minute through Atiba Charles on a fast-break against the run of play before Assoon restored Rangers’ two-goal cushion at 3-1 a minute later.
However, some sloppy play with the ball at his feet by Rangers goalkeeper Jabari Brice gifted Moruga a second goal in the 30th minute via Jeremy Carter to reduce the deficit to 3-2 before Lee got a second in the 38th, and Assoon, likewise on the stroke of half-time for a commanding 5-2 advantage at the interval.
Within a minute of the restart, Lee completed his hattrick and in the 56th minute, he got his fourth item for a 7-2 scoreline while substitute Aikim Andrews (58th), Russell (59th and 82nd), and another substitute, Ataulla Guerra (71st) also got their name on the scoresheet.
In the other match of the night, Brent Sam headed Defence Force into the lead in the 11th minute with a free back-post header from a Hashim Arcia corner before Akinola Gregory got Deportivo Point Fortin level seven minutes later with a close-range effort that flew through the hands of goalkeeper Aaron Enill.
Last night (Saturday, April 9), at the Arima Municipal Stadium, Central FC came up against Real West Fort, and Central Soccer World played AC Port-of-Spain.
The ten clubs will compete in two rounds of football providing 18 match days for a winners prize of $100,000, while second place gets $50,000, and third $25,000. (NS)
The additional venues to be used include the Diego Martin Sporting Complex, Diego Martin, and the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.
The league was first held in 2019, as a pre-season event for the T&T Pro League season with record-domestic league champion Defence Force capturing the Division One crown and $125,000 top prize, while San Fernando Giants won Division Two and $100,000.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition was not held in 2020 or last year, with this year’s competition being staged with a budget of $3.5 million with $175,000 in prize money.