Defence Force and Neal & Massy Caledonia AIA will contest this year’s final of the Lucozade Sport Goal Shield after both recorded comfortable semifinal wins over St Ann’s Rangers and T&TEC, respectively, at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella on Friday night.
In the night’s opener, Defence Force, powered ahead with two well taken goals from in-form striker Richard “Shaka” Roy and eventually spanked Rangers 4-1.
After a dull first 45 minutes, it seemed as though the half-time ‘pep-talk’ from coach Ross Russell injected new life into the “Teteron Boys”, who went ahead in the 57th minute when Roy turned brilliantly on his marker on top the 18-yard-box and unleashed an unstoppable right-footed volley into the far corner past goalkeeper Shane Mattis.
But that lead lasted only two minutes as the lively Cameron Roget prodded home the equaliser for Rangers from what looked a clear off-side position as his team seeked to register another upset.
This after eking out a 1-0 win over Digicel T&T Pro League champion, W Connection in the quarterfinals. It did not take Defence Force too long to restore its one-goal cushion, as former Rangers’ striker Josimar Belgrave netted in the 64th minute before second-half substitute Jerwyn “Bally” Balthazar rifled home a rocket of a right-footer from 30 yards out which whisked past the desperate dive of Mattis to extend the lead 3-1.
Roy added another, six minutes from full-time, to seal their second straight 4-1 win after a similar result over Adams’ Construction Limited San Juan Jabloteh in last week’s quarterfinal. It now gives Defence Force a chance at avenging a 1-0 loss to Caledonia in the T&T Football Federation FA Trophy final contested last month.
T&TEC coach Dexter Cyrus and his team were also out to settle a score with Caledonia, who defeated them in the First Citizens Cup final in November and also denied them the league title with a 3-2 beating on the final match day of the season last month.
However, within 13 minutes of the start, it was Caledonia which took the lead when an intended right-sided cross inside the 18-yard box was turned past his own goalkeeper (Akini Adams) by defender Coneal Thomas.
That lead lasted until the half as Caledonia controlled most of the play without adding to its tally against a T&TEC team that was finding it difficult to find its rhythm. Two minutes into the second-half, Caledonia doubled its tally when striker Devon Jorsling turned a right-sided centre from Makesi Lewis home past Adams from less than six yards out.
With the match seemingly in the bag, Caledonia’s Walter Moore then handed the “Electricity Boys” a life-line when he tripped over Sylvester Teesdale in the penalty-area for striker Kevon Neaves to blast home from the spot for a 2-1 deficit in the 63rd minute.
But that was close as T&TEC would get as midfielder Atualla Guerra added a third item for Caledonia in the 70th minute for a 3-1 lead.
Despite coming close on a few occassions through captain Sylvester Teesdale and striker Marcus Joseph, who skimmed the cross-bar, T&TEC could not find a way back which ensured the Morvant/Laventille club a chance at a third title this season.
Teams
St. Ann’s Rangers—Shane Mattis, Akil Clarke (capt.), Kareem Moses, Alonso King, Hector Sam, Elijah Belgrave (Jemel Berot 79th), Devon Modeste, Mikhail Awai, Theon James (Kerron Alexander 78th), Cameron Roget, Nicholas Valentine.
Coach—Dean Pacheco.
Defence Force—Kevin Graham, Jahvon Neptune (capt.) (Kerry Joseph 76th), Christon Baptiste (Ross Russell Jr. 63rd) (Yellow Card), Devin Jordan (Yellow Card), Richard Roy, Rodell Elcock, Aklie Edwards, Curtis Gonzales, Marvin Jones, Josimar Belgrave, Levi Serries (Jerwyn Balthazar 62nd).
Coach—Ross Russell.
Teams
T&TEC FC—Akini Adams, Sylvester Teesdale (capt.), Corneal Thomas (Yellow Card), Jayson Joseph, Brenton De Leon (Kerron Benito 46th), Marcus Joseph, Andre Toussaint, Bevon Bass (Simeon Augustus 75th), Kevon Neaves (Kerry Baptiste 65th), Akeem Adams, Aubrey David.
Coach—Dexter Cyrus.
Caledonia AIA—Zane Coker, Stephan David (capt.), Nuru Abdullah Muhammad (Kedar Roderick 59th), Collin Nelson, Trayon Bobb, Makesi Lewis (Keyon Edwards 72nd) (Yellow Card), Walter Moore (Yellow Card), Jamal Gay (Micah Lewis 80th), Ataullah Guerra, Devorn Jorsling, Radanfah Abu Bakr.
Coach—Jamaal Shabazz.
Results
Defence Force 4 (Richard Roy 57th, 84th, Josimar Belgrave 64th, Jerwyn Balthazar 81st) vs St Ann’s Rangers 1 (Cameron Roget 59th).
Caledonia 3 (Coneal Thomas 13th o.g, Devorn Jorsling 47th, Ataullah Guerra 70th) vs T&TEC 1 (Kevon Neaves 63rd pen).