Paolo Suarez scored three goals and Comunicaciones defeated host Caledonia AIA, 3-0, in a CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) game on Thursday at Hasely Crawford Stadium.
The victory gave the Guatemalans their first three points of the competition and sliced in half Toluca’s lead at the summit of the Group 6 table. Caledonia has never won a game in the competition after six tries.
A brilliant individual effort by CCL veteran Paolo Suarez gave Comunicaciones a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute. The Uruguayan, brother of Liverpool star Luis Suarez, started a run down the left wing nearly 35 yards from the goal.
Dribbling past defenders with a mixture of skill and change of speed, he glided into the box and fired a right-footed shot beyond the reach of goalkeeper Glenroy Samuel.
It was Suarez’s first CCL goal for the Cremas after scoring five during an accomplished career with El Salvador ‘s Isidro Metapan.
Noel Williams had Caledonia’s first chance in the 27th minute, latching onto a ball headed near Comunicaciones’ left post. Goalkeeper Juan Paredes, though, reacted with sharp technique to block the left-footed shot from inside the six-yard box for a corner kick.
Three minutes later, the host could have equalized, but Jamal Gay’s close-range header from the left flashed just inches beyond the far post.
Comunicaciones had an opportunity to punish the home side for those misses in the 36th minute, when Carlos Figueroa found in the box an unmarked Carlos Ramirez with a precise cross from the right side. The 26-year-old Uruguayan could not locate the net with a header of his own.
The visitors had another chance to double their lead only three minutes into the second half. Once again, it was Suarez in the middle of the action as he dribbled into the Caledonia box before being taken down by a combination of Kareem Joseph and Muhammad Nuru Abdullah.
Jean Marquez took the ensuing penalty, striking it down the middle and straight into Samuel. The rebound came back to the midfielder and he blasted an effort off the post.
Suarez, though, would make his immense presence felt again in the 61st minute. After receiving the ball in the middle, he turned and unleashed a shot from 28 yards that found the back of the net.
The Uruguayan completed his hat-trick in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Samuel appeared to have injured himself in the run up to a goal kick. The ball fell short to the quick-reacting Suarez, who only had to roll it unchallenged into the back of the empty net from 18 yards, while the goalkeeper remained down on the ground.
Next up for Comunicaciones, which snapped a four-game CCL away losing streak, is a rematch against Caledonia on September 25. Before then, the Trinidadians will try to avoid elimination, when they travel to Toluca for a September 18 tilt.
Final Score
CSD Comunicaciones 3 v Caledonia AIA 0
Paolo Suárez 10
Paolo Suárez 61
Paolo Suárez 93
Teams
Caledonia AIA: - 33.Glenroy Samuel, 2.Aubrey David, 12.Kareem Joseph, 3.Nuru Muhammad, 14.Jamaal Smith, 7.Stephan David (capt), 27.Nathan Lewis, 21.Densill Theobald, 20.Noel Williams (16.Tyrone Charles 56th), 9.Keyon Edwards (11.Abdallah Phillips 73rd), 23.Jamal Gay (15.Aaron Lester 81st).
Coach: - Jamaal Shabazz.
Comunicaciones: - 30.Juan Paredes Guzman, 13.Carlos Castrillo Alonzo, 14.Rafael Morales, 28.Joel Benítez (3.Elías Vásquez Prera 17th), 29.Carlos Figueroa Martinez, 22.Rigoberto Gómez, 24.Kendell Herrarte (19.Brayan Ordoñez 58th), 4.Wilson Lalín, 12.Jean Márquez, 8.Paolo Suárez, 70.Carlos Ramirez Silva (18.Minor López 77th).
Coach: - Iván Sopegno.
Video: - Caledonia AIA vs CSD Comunicaciones Highlights
Referee: - Erick Rigoberto Andino Medina.
Venue: - Hasley Crawford Stadium.
Standings
P W D L F A Pts
Toluca 2 0 0 5 2 6
Comunicaciones 2 1 0 1 4 2 3
Caledonia 2 0 0 2 1 6 0
Line-up Commentary (concacaf.com).
END OF THE GAME
2H 93' Comunicaciones converts a goal by Paolo Suárez
2H 91' Clearance by Caledonia AIA, made by Aubrey David
2H 88' Aubrey David makes a clearance
2H 87' Rigoberto Gómez kicks the corner for Comunicaciones
2H 83' Aubrey David throws in
2H 82' Rodolfo Paolo Suárez Díaz is found in an offside position
2H 81' Aaron Lester enters for Caledonia AIA, Jamaal Gay leaves the field
2H 78' An illicit act by Aubrey David against Jean Márquez! The referee awards a free kick
2H 78' Goal kick by Juan Jóse Paredes Guzman
2H 77' A change by Comunicaciones, Minor López comes on for Carlos Ramirez Silva
2H 77' Goal kick by Juan Jóse Paredes Guzman
2H 77' Throw-in by Kareem Joseph
2H 77' Carlos Mauricio Castrillo Alonzo fouls Stephan David
2H 76' Foul committed by Aubrey David on Jean Márquez
2H 75' Clearance by Caledonia AIA, executed by Kareem Joseph
2H 75' Throw-in by Carlos Mauricio Castrillo Alonzo
2H 73' Abdallah Phillips now enters the field for Caledonia AIA, Keyon Edwards comes off
2H 72' Clearance by Caledonia AIA, made by Aubrey David
2H 70' Glenroy Samuel makes a clearance
2H 70' An illicit act by Elías Enoc Vásquez Prera against Keyon Edwards! The ref awards a free kick
2H 69' Carlos Mauricio Castrillo Alonzo throws in
2H 69' Clearance by Caledonia AIA, the ball was kicked out of bounds by Aubrey David
2H 68' Foul by Nathan Lewis on Wilson Lalín! The referee awards a free kick
2H 68' Goal kick by Glenroy Samuel
2H 68' Goal kick by Glenroy Samuel
2H 68' Clearance by Comunicaciones, made by Carlos Mauricio Castrillo Alonzo
2H 67' Goal kick by Glenroy Samuel
2H 66' Goal kick by Juan Jóse Paredes Guzman
2H 65' Aubrey David makes a clearance for Caledonia AIA
2H 63' Goal kick by Juan Jóse Paredes Guzman
2H 63' Chance for Caledonia AIA. Kareem Joseph shoots, but it goes wide!
2H 62' Clearance by Nuru Abdullah Muhammad
2H 61' Kareem Joseph clears the ball
2H 61' GOOAAL for Comunicaciones! Paolo Suárez converts an open play goal
2H 58' Aubrey David makes a clearance
2H 58' Goal kick by Glenroy Samuel
2H 58' A change by Comunicaciones, Brayan Ordoñez comes on for Kendell Herrarte
2H 57' Clearance by Caledonia AIA, the ball was kicked out of bounds by Aubrey David
2H 57' Clearance by Caledonia AIA, executed by Glenroy Samuel
2H 56' Caledonia AIA makes a change, Tyrone Charles comes on, Noel Williams comes off
2H 56' Opportunity for Caledonia AIA. Aubrey David shoots, but the ball misses the target!
2H 54' Clearance by Caledonia AIA, made by Aubrey David
2H 53' Goal kick by Glenroy Samuel
2H 52' Throw-in by Rafael Morales
2H 51' Aubrey David makes a clearance for Caledonia AIA
2H 50' Clearance by Caledonia AIA, the ball was kicked out of bounds by Glenroy Samuel
2H 49' An illicit act by Wilson Lalín against Jamaal Gay! The referee awards a free kick
2H 47' Clearance by Kareem Joseph
2H 47' Opportunity for Comunicaciones. Jean Márquez shoots but the ball hits the post!
2H 47' Throw-in for Caledonia AIA, taken by Aubrey David
2H 46' Jean Márquez takes the penalty, Saved by Glenroy Samuel!
2H 46' Aubrey David couldn't handle Rodolfo Paolo Suárez Díaz and committed a foul in the penalty area. Penalty!
2H 45' Kareem Joseph makes a clearance for Caledonia AIA
START OF SECOND HALF
END OF FIRST HALF
1H 47' Clearance by Carlos Mauricio Castrillo Alonzo
1H 46' Jamal Gay executes the corner kick for Caledonia AIA
1H 46' Clearance by Wilson Lalín, resulting in a corner for the opponent
1H 46' Rafael Morales makes a clearance
1H 45' Kareem Joseph clears the ball by kicking it out of bounds
1H 45' Foul by Aubrey David on Carlos Ramirez Silva! The referee gives a free kick
1H 45' Throw-in for Comunicaciones, taken by Carlos Mauricio Castrillo Alonzo
1H 43' Clearance by Caledonia AIA, executed by Glenroy Samuel
1H 43' Throw-in by Carlos Fernando Figueroa Martinez
1H 41' Jamal Gay fouls Rafael Morales
1H 41' Goal kick by Glenroy Samuel
1H 41' Carlos Ramirez Silva trys to shoot on goal, but the attempt goes wide!
1H 40' Goal kick by Juan Jóse Paredes Guzman
1H 39' Densill Theobald throws in
1H 39' Clearance by Comunicaciones, the ball was kicked out of bounds by Carlos Ramirez Silva
1H 39' Clearance by Comunicaciones, executed by Elías Enoc Vásquez Prera
1H 38' Throw-in by Jamaal Smith
1H 37' An illicit act by Densill Theobald against Rigoberto Gómez! The referee awards a free kick
1H 36' Clearance by Comunicaciones, made by Carlos Fernando Figueroa Martinez
1H 36' Throw-in for Caledonia AIA, done by Nuru Abdullah Muhammad
1H 35' Goal kick by Glenroy Samuel
1H 35' Carlos Ramirez Silva lost control over his shot and it goes wide
1H 35' Stephan David fouls Carlos Fernando Figueroa Martinez
1H 34' Throw-in for Caledonia AIA, done by Kareem Joseph
1H 33' Clearance by Rafael Morales
1H 33' Rafael Morales clears the ball
1H 32' Wilson Lalín illegally stopped Noel Williams
1H 31' Goal kick by Juan Jóse Paredes Guzman
1H 31' Jamaal Gay attempts to shoot on goal! And the attempt goes wide!
1H 30' Jean Márquez throws in
1H 30' Clearance by Caledonia AIA, the ball was kicked out of bounds by Aubrey David
1H 30' Goal kick by Juan Jóse Paredes Guzman
1H 29' Jamal Gay lost control over his shot and it goes wide
1H 29' Glenroy Samuel clears the ball
1H 28' An illict act by Kendell Herrarte against Nuru Abdullah Muhammad! The ref gives a free kick
1H 27' Goal kick by Glenroy Samuel
1H 27' A shot by Carlos Ramirez Silva, but the attempt goes wide
1H 26' Aubrey David throws in
1H 26' Keyon Edwards committed a foul against Juan Jóse Paredes Guzman
1H 26' Corner for Caledonia AIA, taken by Nathan Lewis
1H 25' Keyon Edwards shoots on goal! But Juan Jóse Paredes Guzman catches the ball!
1H 25' Foul by Carlos Fernando Figueroa Martinez on Aubrey David! The referee awards a free kick
1H 24' Clearance by Comunicaciones, made by Juan Jóse Paredes Guzman
1H 23' Throw-in for Caledonia AIA, done by Nuru Abdullah Muhammad
1H 22' Throw-in by Carlos Fernando Figueroa Martinez
1H 22' Aubrey David throws in
1H 21' Clearance by Caledonia AIA, the ball was kicked out of bounds by Glenroy Samuel
1H 20' Clearance by Comunicaciones, executed by Carlos Mauricio Castrillo Alonzo
1H 19' Goal kick by Glenroy Samuel
1H 19' Kendell Herrarte attempts to shoot on goal! But the attempt goes wide!
1H 18' Kareem Joseph commits a foul on Carlos Ramirez Silva
1H 17' Elías Enoc Vásquez Prera now enters the field for Comunicaciones, Joel Francisco Benítez comes off
1H 16' Throw-in by Keyon Edwards
1H 15' Foul by Stephan David on Jean Márquez! The referee gives a free kick
1H 13' Goal kick by Glenroy Samuel
1H 11' Goal kick by Glenroy Samuel
1H 11' An illicit act by Rigoberto Gómez against Jamal Gay! The referee awards a free kick
1H 10' Rodolfo Paolo Suárez Díaz scores an open play goal for Comunicaciones
1H 7' Goal kick by Juan Jóse Paredes Guzman
1H 7' Kareem Joseph makes a clearance
1H 6' Goal kick by Juan Jóse Paredes Guzman
1H 5' Jamaal Smith throws in
1H 5' Clearance by Comunicaciones, the ball was kicked out of bounds by Rigoberto Gómez
1H 5' Clearance by Comunicaciones, executed by Kendell Herrarte
1H 5' Throw-in by Aubrey David
1H 4' Nuru Abdullah Muhammad clears the ball
1H 4' Throw-in for Caledonia AIA, taken by Aubrey David
1H 3' Glenroy Samuel makes a clearance
1H 3' Rafael Morales touched the leather with his hand and the ref gives an indirect free kick
1H 2' An illicit act by Jamal Gay against Joel Francisco Benítez! The referee awards a free kick
1H 2' Goal kick by Glenroy Samuel
1H 1' Foul by Nathan Lewis on Rigoberto Gómez! The referee awards a free kick
1H 1' An illicit act by Kendell Herrarte against Jamaal Smith! The referee gives a free kick
1H 0' Carlos Fernando Figueroa Martinez throws in
START OF THE GAME
Suarez devours Caledonia; Pro League gets a reality check
By Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com)
The Suarez brothers would probably exchange text messages about Trinidad today. And there is no guarantee either will say anything that Caledonia AIA players, coaching staff and supporters would appreciate.
Next to warm weather and friendly people; add pliant football teams and no visible sporting culture.
The “Eastern Stallions” had hoped to earn respect for the local Pro League and Caribbean football in last night’s CONCACAF Champions League clash. But, at the final whistle, Guatemalan team Comunicaciones had romped to a comfortable 3-0 triumph in front of a small and largely dissatisfied crowd at Port of Spain’s Hasely Crawford Stadium thanks to a hattrick from 33-year-old Uruguayan attacker Paolo Suarez.
Suarez is the elder brother of one of football’s most dynamic players, Liverpool and Uruguay forward Luis Suarez.
“It is more important that the team won,” said Suarez, who played down his treble via translator and Caledonia reserve Miguel Romeo.
All the same, Suarez demanded the match ball from Honduran referee Erick Andino after the game. And he admitted that it was his only Champions League hattrick as well as his first goals this season for the “Creams.”
“I am very disappointed with the score line,” said Caledonia coach Jamaal Shabazz, in the post-game press conference. “The score line makes it look like they were far superior to us when in truth they were not. The margin of error is so slim in CONCACAF football.
“It is a learning curve for us.”
There were evidently some new Caledonia supporters who turned out last night to see what all the fuss was about. Some were loudly insisting that they will not be back as they headed for the exits.
With friends like that; who needs enemies?
Yet, there is enough in the uninspiring 2013 Champions League performances from DIRECTV W Connection and Caledonia to demand introspection from all of the Pro League stakeholders.
It is almost four months since either Connection or Caledonia played a league match and, as one observing coach pointed out, which league anywhere in the world takes a four-month break?
The prolonged period of inactivity puts the Pro League teams at a notable disadvantage in the Champions League against opposition that already enjoys better resources and history and the result of the mismatch was further scorn from local patrons. Surely the Pro League administrators must remedy this imbalance for the sake of the domestic game’s reputation.
Comunicaciones, which is coached by Argentine Ivan Franco, used 10 Guatemala international players last night. But it is an organised, competent team and not much more. And Caledonia could reasonably expect a better outcome if the Stallions had been in mid-season when they clashed.
Admittedly, Suarez would be a problem no matter when you face him though; just ask Caledonia right Kareem “Tiny” Joseph.
Like his more illustrious younger brother, Suarez runs at pace with the ball so comfortably in his possession that it might as well have been in his pocket.
Just 10 minutes into the match, Suarez steamed down the left flank and then elegantly changed direction with a chop of the ball that brought him inside Joseph. There were four defenders within close quarters but none spotted the danger quickly enough. And the Comunicaciones attacker buried an angled strike into the far corner before kissing the tattoo of a long-haired lady on his right arm.
That lady got a lot of love last night.
Suarez kissed her again in the 60th minute after he squeezed off another shot with minimal back-lift from 22-yards that fizzed passed Caledonia custodian Glenroy Samuel. And his hattrick came in stoppage time when Samuel hit a spot kick straight to the Uruguayan and apparently injured himself in the process.
Samuel flopped on his back and let’s just say that the Suarez brothers may never earn many mentions when the conversation turns to “fair play” or “sportsmanship.” Suarez stroked the ball into an unprotected net and shamelessly kissed his madam for the third time.
It might have been worse as Suarez dribbled Joseph in the 46th minute and was brought down in the box by a combination of Joseph’s outstretched boot and Nuru Muhammad’s shoulder barge. But Jean Marquez’s subsequent penalty was fended away by Samuel while Marquez drilled the rebound off the inside of the upright and away to safety.
Caledonia, who was without the injured Akim Armstrong and unwell Andre Toussaint, did have its moments. Trinidad and Tobago national senior team coach Stephen Hart was present and must have been impressed with veteran midfielder Densill Theobald’s contribution. In the first half alone, there were three key interceptions and a successful 50-50 tackle from Theobald to go with some well weighted attacking passes.
Nathan Lewis should have done better with his cross after being released down the left flank by Theobald in the first five minutes. And Jamal Gay steered a header inches wide after an interception and measured Theobald pass started another attack.
Gay was in the mood too and threatened throughout. Captain Stephan David was as industrious as ever while Muhammad, left back Aubrey David and substitute winger Tyrone Charles also gave reasonable showings.
Otherwise, though, the Stallions let themselves down with poor decision making while their rhythm was only evident in spurts.
And Suarez made Caledonia pay for its stuttering performance with a treble, which extinguished any lingering hopes that the Morvant/Laventille-based team might advance from its Champions League group.
Caledonia hosts Toluca on September 18 and Shabazz said his outfit will use its remaining two group matches to “gather experience and raise our standard of play.”
“We showed we are able to play at this level in terms of our competitiveness,” said Shabazz.
But the final score summary indicated that the Caledonia team, which is yet to win after six Champions League outings over a two-year stretch, was not nearly competitive enough.
It should be a matter for concern for not just the Stallions but the rest of the Pro League as well.
(Teams)
Caledonia AIA (4-2-3-1): 33.Glenroy Samuel (GK); 12.Kareem Joseph, 3.Nuru Muhammad, 14.Jamaal Smith, 2.Aubrey David; 7.Stephan David (captain), 21.Densill Theobald, 9.Keyon Edwards (11.Abdallah Phillips 74), 20.Noel Williams (16.Tyrone Charles 57), 27.Nathan Lewis; 23.Jamal Gay (15.Aaron Lester 81).
Unused substitutes: 1.Shemel Louison (GK), 5.Akeem Thomas, 6.Marcus Ambrose, 25.Keron Bethelmy.
Coach: Jamaal Shabazz
Comunicaciones (3-4-3): 30.Juan Paredes (GK) (captain); 28.Francisco Benitez (3.Elias Vasquez 18), 13.Carlos Castrillo, 4.Wilson Lalin; 29.Carlos Figueroa, 22.Rigoberto Gomez, 12.Jean Marquez, 14.Rafael Morales; 24.Kendel Herrarte (19.Bryan Ordonez 58), 8.Paolo Suarez, 70.Carlos Ramirez (18.Minor Lopez 75).
Unused substitutes: 1.David Guerra (GK), 2.Dagoberto Arriola, 6.Carlos Mejia, 11.Edward Santeliz.
Coach: Ivan Franco
Referee: Erick Andino (Honduras).