Guaya United is the champion club of the T&T Super League’s inaugural Caribbean Football Trust Limited (CFTL) League Cup competition following a riveting 3-1 win over Prisons F.C at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva on Saturday night.
Guaya is now well positioned to seal a unique double in what is essentially T&T domestic football’s second tier as they currently command a two point lead in the League over FC Santa Rosa with two matches left in the regular season.
Speaking to Guardian Media Sports following Saturday’s victory, Guaya head coach Ron La Forest said, “When we started working in May, this one one of the objectives. We said we’re looking to go at two title - the League and the League Cup. So the next requirement is to try and win the league in the next three games ahead of us.”
The Green Army had to fight from behind for its League Cup win though as Prisons took a 38th minute lead through Ricardo Alleyne after the attacker stormed onto a right sided through ball and into his opponent’s penalty area, before slotting the ball calmly beyond the Guaya goalkeeper.
Guaya, the team from South East Trinidad, almost responded right from the touch off, but having done well to shrug off two Prisons players before marching into the penalty area and doing even more impressively to make shooting space in a crowd of Prisons defenders, Carlon Hughes’ effort barely troubled the man between the sticks.
But Guaya’s wait for the equaliser didn’t last very long. Andrei Pacheco lined up a free-kick from about 25 yards out and his low left-footed drive took a wicked deflection on its way in. That was in the 45th minute and ensured that both teams started the second half on even keel.
Pacheco, known for possessing a powerful and accurate left foot, had his team’s first two attempts of the next half, however both of his speculative attempts from distance were off target.
A period of sustained pressure from Guaya, resulted in a series of corner kicks that finally brought a deserved lead in the 68th minute. One such set play was repelled at the near post and out towards the half way line where Glenton Wolffe collected and pumped the ball back into the Prisons penalty area. An unchallenged Leroy Jones collected with one touch and fired a fierce left-footed volley with the other to make it 2-1 in favour of La Forest’s men.
Hughes ended up as the tournament’s top scorer with six goals when he latched on to a long distribution from his own goalkeeper. The Guaya number 10 then beat his defender and the Prisons keeper before finishing into an empty net to seal the win in the fourth minute of five that were added on for stoppages.
With three matches left, Guaya’s next task is recapturing the league title which it last won in 2015 before relinquishing it last season to Santa Rosa.
They next host WASA FC at Newlands Recreation Ground in Guayaguayare on November 26 and La Forest said the players must remain focused in order to be certain of success.
“There is no pressure on us right now. We’re playing good football, all departments are working. The only pressure on us is what time the game is starting.” he said. “We going full speed ahead starting with WASA on Sunday.”
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