League leader, Club Sando trailed three times against Siparia Spurs, on Wednesday, before securing a dramatic 5-4 win to remain at the helm of the blink/bmobile National Super League standings, when rescheduled matches continued.
The league’s leading goal scorer Teba McKnight bagged a double, which included the last goal of the match in the 72nd minute, for his team which sits two points at the top of the standings, ahead of Guaya United, which also won and remains with a match in hand.
Andy London opened for Sando in the tenth minute, before 2012 Secondary Schools’ league top scorer Shackiel Henry equalised. Andre Quashie and Devon Modeste also scored first half goals for Spurs and Sando, respectively, to end the interval at 2-2.
Spurs then took another lead within five minutes of the restart through Levi Garcia, before McKnight once again equalised for Sando in the 54th minute. Spurs’ final goal came when Henry finished his brace, but Club Sando surged once again to level the scores from Anthony Parris in the 67th, before McKnight scored the winning goal with just under 20 minutes remaining.
Despite all efforts, Club Sando will finish second if Guaya wins its remaining matches. The Eastern Counties champion also came from behind on Wednesday to seal a 2-1 win over Real Maracas, to remain in a favourable position to take the title. Dillon Bartholomew opened half-way through the first half for Maracas, but a second half surge and yet another brace from Ryan Stewart, within six minutes, led Guaya back into the title race.
Meanwhile, Malabar FC, a team which showed consistent promise in challenging for the title is almost certainly out of contention after the debuting team suffered a massive blow in a 2-1 loss to WASA FC.
The defeat put Malabar six points off the top of the standings, while WASA’s win lifted the defending champion from 12th to eighth spot and out of the relegation zone. Former T&T international striker Stern John scored his second goal in as many matches to give WASA an early lead, before the club’s leading scorer Fabian Garcia doubled up soon after. Hayden Tinto scored the lone goal for Malabar in the 40th minute.
Five rescheduled matches will be played this weekend; one tomorrow and four on Sunday. No final decision has been made regarding Defence Force and its remaining fixtures. No club has already been relegated.
Results
Club Sando 5 (Andy London 7th, Devon Modeste 41st, Teba McKnight 54th, 72nd, Anthony Parris 67th) vs Siparia Spurs 4 (Shackiel Henry 10th, 62nd, Andre Quashie 38th, Levi Garcia 49th)
Guaya United 2 (Ryan Stewart 64th, 70th) vs Real Maracas 1 (Dillon Bartholomew 22nd)
Stokely Vale 2 (Tyronne Manning 45th, Trevonne James 72nd) vs Joe Public 0
WASA FC 2 (Stern John 5th, Fabian Garcia 13th) vs Malabar FC 1 (Hayden Tinto 40th)
Fixtures
Saturday
Bethel United vs Siparia Spurs, Montgomery Recreation Ground, 4 pm
Sunday
FC Santa Rosa vs Guaya United, YTC Ground, Arouca, 4 pm
Westside vs Stokely Vale, Debe Recreation Ground, 4 pm
Real Maracas vs Joe Public, Maracas Ground, St Joseph, 4 pm
Club Sando vs Defence Force - Postponed
Phoenix - Bye
Standings
Teams Pld W D L F A Pts
Club Sando 22 17 3 2 65 24 54
Guaya Utd 21 17 1 3 54 25 52
Malabar FC 22 15 3 4 77 32 48
Phoenix 23 7 10 6 32 39 31
Stokely Vale 22 9 2 11 35 47 29
Real Maracas 22 8 4 10 37 30 28
Siparia Spurs 22 6 6 10 45 47 24
WASA FC 23 5 7 11 27 35 22
Joe Public FC 21 5 6 10 29 38 21
FC Santa Rosa 21 5 5 11 28 47 20
Bethel Utd 21 5 5 11 29 51 20
Defence Force 16 5 3 8 23 44 18
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