League leaders San Juan Jabloteh suffered a second bump this week after being held to a 1-1 against Caledonia AIA of Morvant Laventille on Tuesday night at the Marvin Lee Stadium in Match Day Five Digicel Pro League action.
Meantime the Morvant Laventille squad maintained their fourth spot with 7 points despite taking a point against the defending champs.
Ronald Primus had the three time League champions ahead in the 25th minute but that advantage vanished one minute before the hour mark and a brilliant strike by Keyon Edwards.
Hector Sam had a golden opportunity in the 13th minute of play but muffed after Elton John’s searching pass forward found the former England based striker with only the goalkeeper to beat and he wasted time allowing defenders Nuru Muhammed and Charles Pollard to recover and his tame shot under their challenge was easily gathered by Zane Coker.
On the other end striker Keyon Edwards failed to let off a shot from inside the six yard area after Kendal Velox did all the hard work down the right before nipping a pass into the area in the 14th minute.
And seconds later goalkeeper John had to pull off a decent one handed save to deny Marcus Ambrose’s shot from outside the area. Armstrong had another go at from in the 20th minute but this time he was way over bar.
But in the 25th minute Robert Primus made it 1-0 blasting through defender Muhammed’s challenge after Karlon Murray at far post headed down Elton John’s freekick but the clearance by the Caledonia defence was a weak one and Primus put everything into his shot from above the six yard area.
Defender Noel Williams failed to double the defending champions’ advantage just over the half hour mark when he smashed an effort from above the area directly at onrushing goalkeeper Coker.
On the other end in the 36th minute centre forward Keyon Edwards held off Williams to have a shot but only managed to stretch the ball across the face of goal.
And two minutes from time Armstrong scrapped the top netting with a well timed volley from outside the area after goalkeeper John made a punch out on Kareem Joseph’s corner. Joseph later supplied a freekick from the right but Edwards’ header on goal was a fraction off leaving Jabloteh with their 1-0advantage at the break.
Caledonia forced Jabloteh on their back on a number of occasions and showed a bit more promise in the second half.
But seconds after Earl Jean added defender Sheldon Bateau to preserve his one goal advantage, Keyon Edwards levelled the scores 1-1 in the 59th minute running onto a long through ball, holding off defender Karlon Murray and unleashing a bullet into the far post beating goalkeeper Cleon John.
Jabloteh’s once shining night, turned dull in the 68th minute when defender Karlon Murray received a direct red card from match referee Gregory Lewis for using obscene language at assistant referee Dwight Newsum.
Five minutes later Edwards was again a threat on the Jabloteh post hitting wide from outside the area.
Substitute Judah Hernandez failed to give Caledonia a deserving lead in the 77th minute after racing one on one with goalkeeper John but fumbled under late pressure from defender Bateau giving the Jabloteh goalie an easy pickup.
Jabloteh mounted late pressure on Caledonia however it wasn’t enough for a winning item and maximum points.
Caledonia AIA 1—1 San Juan Jabloteh
Keyon Edwards 59’ ; Robert Primus 25’
Caledonia AIA of Morvant Laventille—Zane Coker (gk), Charles Pollard (capt.), Walter Morre, Kendal Velox (Judah Hernandez 56th), Stephan David, Kareem Joseph, Marcus Ambrose, Akim Amstrong (LJ Mitchell 88th), Nuru Muhammed, Kerry Daniel, Keyon Edwards (Abdullah Phillips 78th)
Coach—Jamaal Shabazz
San Juan Jabloteh—Cleon John (gk), Marvin Oliver (capt.) (Willis Plaza 81st), Karlon Murray (red 68th), Hector Sam (Jason Marcano 55th), Anton Hutchinson, Noel Williams, Elton John, Lester Peltier, Devon Jamerson (yellow) (Sheldon Bateau 58th) (yellow), Joel Russell, Robert Primus.
Coach—Earl Jean
Caledonia make point against Jabloteh.
By: Lasana Liburd (T&T Express).
Caledonia AIA of Morvant Laventille left the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya on Tuesday night with just one of the three points at stake after a 1-1 draw with defending champions CLICO San Juan Jabloteh.
But, just maybe, they took something else that could be equally valuable to their 2009 Digicel Pro League campaign.
Sometime around 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Caledonia attacker Abdullah Phillips might have rung his friend and teammate Densill Theobald-who, along with Keon Daniel and Radanfah Abu Bakr, is on national duty in Tobago-and relayed the news. The "Eastern Stallions" held their own against the reigning champs without them.
If the Morvant Laventille outfit showed they cannot be easily discounted this year on the back of some exotic signings, they arguably made the point even more emphatically in their absence.
"As open as the game was, I thought we should have won that one," said Caledonia coach Jamaal Shabazz. "And we were without three guys who would start on any team in the League.
"Unlike last season and the season before that, we do have a bit of depth this year."
There were times in the second half that Jabloteh struggled to locate let alone get hold of the ball. If the pattern of either team is indicative of the season ahead for them, it should not be glossed over.
Jabloteh's 37-year-old player/coach Earl Jean, who took over after the club's recent controversial rift with their technical director Terry Fenwick, has made a terrific start to his first coaching assignment. He is undefeated and atop the Pro League standings while Jabloteh have one loss from eight outings in all competitions under his tenure.
It is still early days but there seems to be more individual expression within Jabloteh's ranks at present. Ataullah Guerra, who is also in Tobago with the national squad, surely seems to be back to his best under Jean and is, arguably, the best playmaker in the League on present form.
Yet, the sight of Jabloteh conceding so much midfield room to a rival-and a weakened one at that-might prove an encouraging sign for future opponents, even though Jean's men had as many chances as Caledonia to secure the win.
"I wasn't too pleased with our performance in the second half," said Jean. "When we get on top of teams, we seem to take it for granted that they would lie down and they let us get the three points."
Jabloteh went ahead in the 25th minute as Caledonia's teenaged custodian Zane Coker failed to negotiate an Elton John free kick, which Hector Sam nodded down for Robert Primus to tap into an unguarded net.
The "San Juan Kings" should have doubled their advantage, eight minutes later, as Lester Peltier cleverly threaded a pass for the overlapping Noel Williams but, although clear on goal, Williams could not lift his shot over Coker's legs.
Rejuvenated after the interval, Caledonia made the champions rue their wastefulness.
Once more, Keyon Edwards, a pre-season capture from St Ann's Rangers, was the designated sniper with a precise finish off the inside of the far post after being sent clear. It was his third goal from four outings with Caledonia.
Some Caledonia fans criticised Edwards' work rate in the first half but they would surely be more understanding if he continues to finish like that.
"Keyon has his own laid-back style," said Shabazz. "Some of our supporters felt he wasn't working hard. But he has been wonderful for us and I thought he would never stop running in the second half."
A loose comment by Jabloteh defender Karlon Murray provoked a red card from referee Gregory Lewis in the 68th minute. But, by then, Caledonia had dipped into their reserves and could not find a knock-out punch against the short-handed champions.
"I want to finish my game with 11 players and I will not allow my players to make disrespectful comments to the officials," said Jean, who promised further investigation into Murray's supposed misdemeanor. "But the important thing is we didn't lose the game. If you want to defend a championship, it is important that, even when we don't play well, we can still get a result."
There is no sign that Jabloteh will wilt, despite their back room problems. But surely Caledonia were the happier team on Tuesday night.
"We have seen eight of the 11 teams play so far," said Shabazz. "I certainly think we are going to be a challenger for the crown."
Theobald probably deduced as much when he heard about Caledonia's result and their performance to boot.
TEAMS:
Caledonia: (4-1-3-2)
33. Zane Coker; 12. Kareem Joseph, 13. Charles Pollard (Capt), 27. Nuru Muhammed, 15. Walter Moore; 7. Stephan David; 31. Kerry Daniel, 17. Akim Armstrong (20. LJ Mitchell 88th), 16. Marcus Ambrose; 29. Kendal Velox (18. Judah Hernandez 56th), 9. Keyon Edwards (11. Abdullah Phillips 78th).
Jabloteh: (4-2-2-2)
22. Cleon John; 27. Joel Russell, 4. Karlon Murray, 28. Robert Primus, 6. Noel Williams; 5. Anton Hutchinson, 17. Devon Jamerson (29. Sheldon Bateau 58th); 12. Elton John, 10. Marvin Oliver (Capt) (20. Willis Plaza 81st); 19. Hector Sam (13. Jason Marcano 55th), 30. Lester Peltier.