A SHOCKING display of indiscipline marred the T&T Pro League football contest between CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh and Starworld Strikers at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on Sunday.
Earlier Jabloteh’s head coach Steven Rutter and Starworld’s assistant Michael “Brow” Maurice had been ordered from their respective benches by referee Ramesh Ramdhan for unsportsmanlike conduct. And while Starworld’s Randolph Jerome and Kareem Blackman were already sent to the showers, goalkeeper Marvin Phillip was sent off in acrimonious circumstances in the 90th minute. Jabloteh held a 3-2 lead in second half stoppage time when midfielder Travis Mulraine — who was banned by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) after a confrontation with Ramdhan during the 1998 Semi-Pro League — outmuscled Starworld’s winger Linsie Sherwood inside the penalty box and shot home past Phillip.
In 2002, Phillip was suspended by the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) for allegedly spitting at a referee. But, in front of a small crowd on Sunday night, he treated referee Ramdhan with similar contempt after he was shown the red card for abusive language following Mulraine’s goal. After spewing saliva to Ramdhan’s face, the goalie proceeded to slap the red card from the beleagured referee’s hand (similar to Mulraine six years ago) and stormed off the field, with the assistance of his team-mates. A member of the 2001 national Under-17 World Cup team, Phillip has had an outstanding but chequered career, at both the school level (for Princes Town) and club level (for Jabloteh, where he was a member until 2003). According to a member of the Pro League’s executive yesterday, the matter will be referred to their Disciplinary Committee with a decision expected by the end of the week.
On Sunday Josh Johnson (26th) and Keyeno Thomas (28th) gave Jabloteh a 2-0 cushion before striker Randolph Jerome capitalised on a deflected freekick from ex-national defender Shurland David and shot past keeper Daurance Williams in the 36th. Three minutes later, Starworld were back on level terms when midfielder Kevin Hernandez met a right-side pass from Andre Charles and powered his right-footed volley past Williams. The complexion of the match changed in the second half, with Rutter removed from the bench in the 64th after debating a number of Ramdhan’s decisions; Jerome given his marching orders eight minutes later after an elbow, off-the-ball, to the face of defender Cyd Gray; and Blackman ejected in the 77th for his second caution.
In the 83rd, Jabloteh restored their lead when national midfielder Kerry Baptiste collected a left-side centre from Nigel Pierre and thundered his shot past Phillip before Maurice, who also serves as the goalkeeper coach of the TT senior team, was sent off the bench in the 89th. W Connection maintained third spot on the standings after a comfortable 3-1 win over Defence Force, less than 48 hours after they meet in the FCB Cup. Jamaican striker Jason Cudjoe (45th), national Under-23 forward Kendall Davis (60th) and defender Jose Luiz Seabra (67th) were on target for Connection while Devon Jorsling (85th) responded for the Teteron lads. The proposed encounter between leaders North East Stars and Tobago United was also postponed in controversial fashion as the Tobagonians turned up at the Hasely Crawford Stadium instead of the Sangre Grande Recreation Ground.