Veteran B Mobile Joe Public midfielder Arnold Dwarika netted two second half goals, coming on as a substitute against Alpha United to help his team run away 2-0 winners and secure its spot in the final of the Kashif & Shanghai Tournament on New Years Day in Linden, Guyana.
According to coach of the TT Pro League Club Michael Mc Comie, “The final is now labeled a Trinidad vs Guyana final as Joe Public will face defending Champions TOPP 20 of Guyana.”
Joe Public controlled the entire first period against Alpha United in their semifinal match, but failed to capitalize on excellent chances created by Gary Glasgow, Kendall Davis and Devon Mitchell.
Early into the second period, the Mc Comie coached team lost Jamaican striker Wolry Wolfe who suffered a harsh clash by an Alpha defender. It was a blessing in disguise as Coach Mc Comie introduced his very faithful Arnold Dwarika in the 50th minute.
It took the former national player only six minutes to register his first goal and separate the teams—the Pro League champs taking a 1-0 advantage.
Dwarika broke the hour long deadlock sending a low left-footed shot past Alpha’s goalkeeper from 18 yards out after Devon Mitchell neatly played back a Seon Power cross.
Alpha United stumbled time after time as they tried to keep up with the pace of the Eastern Lions, leaving a large turnout of fans disappointed, as they were unable to impress.
Late into the match Dwarika buried Alpha’s hopes of a comeback with less than 10 minutes to go when he completed his double.
Alpha’s goalkeeper looked good when he denied Gary Glasgow twice, but Dwarika spoiled his heroics when he tapped in from the rebound for his team’s 2-0 finish.
Joe Public Coach Michael Mc Comie and his assistantCoach Mc Comie who was very pleased with his team’s performance he told ‘ttproleague.com’, “The way we played in the first half was the best I have seen the guys play this season. They got spot on with a lot of what I have been pushing the team towards this season although we failed to finish our chances in the first half.”
“Arnold was once again fantastic coming on in the second period, Gary Glasgow, Devon Mitchell and Kendell Davis also had some decent chances. Defender Jason Springer who played his first game for us performed extremely well but all in all Lyndon Andrews nicknamed the ‘Hitman’ in Guyana really gelled the team and allowed me to play three sometimes four strikers which they could not cope with,” added Mc Comie.
In the first semifinal match defending Champions TOPP 20 defeated Western Tigers 2-0 in extra time after the game ended 0-0 after regulation time.
The 2006 Pro League champions are looking forward to the challenge against TOPP 20 in the final and Coach Mc Comie is not at all worried about facing the defending Guyanese Champs, “Having watched them play against Western Tigers, I noticed that they play at a slow pace just as most of the teams in Guyana. They have just two players to watch for, North East Stars defender Charles Pollard and former Jabloteh striker Collin Hercules.”
“The anxiety is high and we are going to play our style and try to reproduce the first half we had against Alpha United but this time with goals. We are going to exploit their weak points and get the job done,” said the confident coach.
Joe Public could be without the services of striker Wolry Wolfe according to Coach Mc Comie, “We have three injury problems, but Wolfe looks very tentative for the final according to the team Physiotherapist.”
“We are just going to enjoy ourselves in the final and go for the title which can do well for us ahead of the 2007 season,” ended the Pro League winning coach.