Digicel Pro League leaders W Connection will attempt to stretch the gap to five points ahead of Couva rivals Central FC when they visit St. Ann’s Rangers from 6pm at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Tuesday.
Connection (34 points) snatched the lead for the first time this season with last Friday’s 4-1 win over Defence Force, while Central (32 points), who previously led the standings all season, suffered their first league loss, 2-0, against Ma Pau Stars on Saturday.
But Dale Saunders, head coach at Central, says his team remains confident in becoming the first team in the history of the Pro League to capture the league crown three times in a row.
Saunders explained with a rescheduled game in hand against Defence Force, and just four remaining league games in the truncated 2016-17 season including Wednesday’s clash against Police from 3:30pm at the Larry Gomes Stadium, his team’s chances of defending the league crown is still within reach.
“Our destiny is in our hands,” said the Central coach. “We are still in a great position to win [the league] and we have no doubt that we can achieve being champions again.”
Saunders said Saturday’s loss against Ma Pau gave his players a reality check after twelve straight league games undefeated.
“We made mistakes and we didn’t score some chances [against Ma Pau],” he said. “And we also had a goal disallowed, which clearly crossed the line. But we are happy for the reality check and the players now understand the importance of getting it right at this stage [of the season]. We know what we have to do and we are going to try and win all our remaining games.”
Meanwhile W Connection head coach Stuart Charles Fevrier reminded, “We always try to win every competition; it’s the norm with us. Our objective is to be competitive and try to win games and competitions.”
The multiple-time former league winning coach added, “We want to win the league [this season] like everyone else. We have definitely improved in our results and I hope we can keep the consistency for the rest of the season.
“Our objective is just to take it game by game. They (Central) have a game in hand but whatever their results we only have control over our games. So we must remain focused, continuing with the game against Rangers on Tuesday.
“We want to win on Tuesday and I’m sure Rangers want the same. We know what we want while being mindful that most times the teams with the least mistakes come out on top,” ended the Connection coach.
Also on Tuesday, Defence Force will host Courts Morvant Caledonia United from 8pm at the Hasely Crawford Stadium to complete a double-header at the venue, while at the Mahaica Oval, home side Point Fortin Civic will welcome San Juan Jabloteh from 6pm and much earlier at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Ma Pau Stars will tackle Club Sando from 3:30pm.
Upcoming Games
(Tuesday 17 January 2017)
Larry Gomes Stadium
Ma Pau Stars vs Club Sando—3:30pm
Mahaica Oval
Point Fortin Civic vs San Juan Jabloteh—6pm
Hasely Crawford Stadium
St. Ann’s Rangers vs W Connection—6pm
Defence Force vs Morvant Caledonia United—8pm
(Wednesday 18 January 2017)
Larry Gomes Stadium
Police FC vs Central FC—3:30pm