TWO DAYS after they relinquished their hold on the Toyota Classic Cup, the “Eastern Lions” Joe Public also surrendered the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) FA Trophy, as they were knocked out in the second round of this year’s competition on Sunday.
Dominique Kerr, Junior Roberts, Kevin Keith and Joel Alleyne were the successful kickers for the Super League outfit (Shelton Williams missed the team’s third), while Kerry Baptiste and Carlyle Mitchell converted the first two attempts for the 2001 and 2007 title winners (Jevaughn Vance and Elusma Pierre missed theirs). The scores were tied at 2-2 after 120 minutes of regulation and extra time. Another Pro League team who were ousted in penalties was North East Stars, who lost 5-4 in sudden-death penalty kicks to 2006 winners WASA, in a replay of that year’s final.
Anthony Thompson netted the winning penalty for the hosts, in fading light at the WASA Ground, St Joseph, after they fought back to secure a 3-3 full-time score.
Veteran defender Todd Ryan’s 23rd minute opener was cancelled out by Sean Cooper (45th) while Alvris Faure’s effort (63rd) was nullified by Guyanese Randolph Jerome (70th) and Linsie Sherwood (72nd). But Darrin Lewis’ equaliser in the 90th proved vital as the hosts went on to advance to the quarter-finals.
Six-time champs Defence Force cruised to a 6-1 victory over Queen’s Park (Northern FA) at the Hasely Crawford Stadium’s Training Ground. Jerwyn Balthazar (13th), Devon Jorsling (38th), Michael Edwards (42nd), Christon Baptiste (64th), Christopher Durity (78th) and Kerry Joseph (85th) were the marksmen for the “Teteron lads” while Stuart Rostant (45th) got the consolation item for the Parkites.
Two-time winners CLICO San Juan Jabloteh comfortably advanced to the last eight after mauling Charlotteville Unifiers 7-0 in the second of back-to-back games at Bacolet. After an own goal from Rodney Murray in the ninth minute, captain Trent Noel led the way with a hat-trick (11th, 34th and 60th), with one apiece from Willis Plaza (26th), Lester Peltier (79th) and Cyrano Glen (85th). The day’s biggest winner was Caledonia AIA, who humiliated M&M Harvard 9-0 in the first game of a double-header at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Tunapuna.
Caledonia led 4-0 at the half, though Jameel Perry (24th), Akim Armstrong (29th) and St Lucian Sheldon Emmanuel (32nd and 45th), and they netted their fifth in the 53th, as teenager Kevin Beaton got a diagonal ball from Walter Moore, rounded goalkeeper Michael Amoroso and slammed the ball into the open net.
Moore was involved in Caledonia’s sixth, three minutes later, as he collected Emmanuel’s pass on the left and crossed to Perry who shielded his marker and tapped home from close range.
Ex-national defender and Harvard captain Colin Roberts was given his marching orders by his namesake, referee Nigel Roberts, in the 62nd for a second bookable offence, but Caledonia left it late to end the onslaught, with contributions from substitute Abdallah Phillips.
In the 83rd, Phillips got a “throw-out” from his goalie Michael Woods and sped down the entire Harvard half, faked Amoroso and slotted home his left-footer; in the 87th, Phillips’ cross met Densil Theobald who capitalised on the haphazard defence and, in the 88th, Phillips took a loose ball from Duran Felician and found Perry who duly completed his hat-trick. Malick Togetherness, who compete in the Eastern FA, proved a more organised team than Harvard, who feature in the Super League.
But the Malick squad, with ex-national midfielder Stokely Mason in their ranks, fell 6-0 to three-time winners W Connection in the latter game at Tunapuna.
Despite loosing impressive Colombian full-back Eder Gilmer Aras to a groin injury after three minutes, Connection broke the deadlock in the 12th as St Kitts/Nevis’ captain George Isaac chested a ball to the path of Andrei Pacheco who blasted his left-footer to the top right corner.
Veteran midfielder Ronaldo Viana got a pass on the right from Nickcolson Thomas and thundered his long-range effort past goalie Ronnie McShine, while Pacheco got his second in the 68th, intercepting a defensive clearance and drilling a low right-footer to the keeper’s left corner. Reserve striker Teba McKnight was spotted inside the penalty box by Christian Viveros in the 72nd and his low cross embarrassingly went under the diving McShine and Kerron Smith tapped home the loose ball.
Smith picked out Isaac with a short pass and the striker rifled a 20-metre drive past the beleagured McShine in the 79th and McKnight ended the rout in stoppage time, heading home a left-sided ball from Isaac.
At the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella, Copious Suns (Northern FA) needed a 105th minute winner from Kerry Mitchell to earn a come-from-behind 2-1 extra-time victory over TTEC Sports Club (Southern FA), after Kendall Jilliard levelled the scores four minutes after Angus John’s opener for TTEC.
And, in the St Ann’s Rangers clash, their Pro League outfit spanked their Northern FA counterparts 5-0.
Sunday's FA Trophy results:
FC Phoenix 4, Joe Public 2
Charlotteville United 0, San Juan Jabloteh 7
Caledonia AIA 9, Harvard FC 0
Malick Togetherness 0, W Connection 6
QPCC 1, Defence Force 6
St Ann's Rangers (NFA) 0, St Ann's Rangers (Pro League) 5
WASA FC 5, North East Stars 4
T&TEC SC 2, Copious Suns 1