A late item from substitute Lester Peltier gave CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh a 2-1 victory over United Petrotrin in their quarterfinal match of the First Citizens Cup at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, on Friday.
The encounter, which was dominated by Terry Fenwick’s men, saw the southerners taking a surprise lead in the 11th minute after captain Anthony Rougier’s long ball on the right was perfectly collected by Kevon Clement, who traveled with it before beating Jabloteh custodian Brian James in goal calmly slotting it home for the opening item.
This fired up the men in green as Jabloteh skipper Kerry Baptiste sent a perfect through ball for Cyd Gray, but his effort was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Perry Martin in the 14th minute.
There was another save that Martin had to make five minutes later as Jabloteh kept applying the pressure, with Jason Marcano sending a ball from the left which was headed almost at ground level by a stooping Anthony Wolfe.
Rougier and company again had to thank their man between the posts in the 24th and 27th minutes for denying Jabloteh what could have been the equalizer and a possible winner.
Frustration seemed to get the better of Jabloteh as Wendell Joseph made a clumsy, and quite dangerous, tackle on Simeon Augustus which, to the surprise of many, was given as a yellow instead of a red card in the 28th minute.
The vocal crowd expressed displeasure when Petrotrin’s Jerrol Forbes had broken free and was heading for goal in the 41st minute, only to be tackled from behind and tripping inside the box.
The referee saw it as a legitimate challenge by Jabloteh, which led to the fans being disgusted with the official as was expressed by various choices of words from the stands.
Then came another Jabloteh opportunity as Nigel Daniel’s distribution to Jason Marcano resulted in a low drive along the ground, which was saved by Martin, thus ensuring that he maintained an unblemished record before the interval.
The second-half was also full of action with Wolfe heading a corner straight into the ground, the bounce taking it over the bar in minute-47.
Last year’s beaten finalists were determined to get the item that would level the scores.
Petrotrin skipper Anthony Rougier was the offender in the 51st minute as he tripped Wolfe outside the box, giving the ‘San Juan Giants’ a free-kick from a threatening position.
The kick was floated across to the left and Wolfe made no mistake in heading home to make it 1-1.
And then came the moment Jabloteh fans had been waiting for.
A neat display of passing led to the ball being fed across goal for the talented Peltier to show no mercy by hammering home the winner.
It happened five minutes before the end and, in the process, saved the ‘Boys from San Juan’ the dreaded penalty shootout. Jabloteh face W Connection in the semi-finals next Friday at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium.
Teams
San Juan Jabloteh
Brian James, Trent Noel, Aurtis Whitley, Wendell Joseph (Peter Prosper), Jason Marcano, Ian Gray, Nigel Daniel, Anthony Wolfe, Ronald Primus (Lester Peltier), Keyeno Thomas, Cyd Gray.
United Petrotrin
Perry Martin, Simeon Augustus (Dexter Cyrus), Kevon Clement, Romauld Aguillera, Marlon Lewis, Anthony Rougier, Al Sinclair, Kelvin Hernandez, Anthony Haynes, Jerrol Forbes (Ijanar Mark), Keon Daniel.
SAN JUAN JABLOTEH v United Petrotrin
2 GOALS 1
3 YELLOW CARDS 2
0 RED CARDS 0
9 SHOTS ON TARGET 2
15 FOULS 16
10 CORNERS 3
2 OFFSIDES 3