Forward Devorn Jorsling opened and closed the match with a brace as he helped his team Caledonia AIA get the better of St Ann’s Rangers, via a 3–1 scoreline, in the Digicel Pro Bowl quarterfinal, played at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on Friday evening.
It was the first of a double header, which was followed by a 2–1 win for T&TEC over DirecTV North East Stars.
The national forward opened his account in the 25th minute, to give Caledonia the lead, which was doubled up through winger Abdallah Phillips in the 39th minute. Rangers pulled one back close to the hour mark to make things interesting, but the scoring was done until the 90th minute, when Jorsling found his second of the match.
In the second match, Anthony Noreiga also scored a double with his goals coming in the first half (17th, 30th) for T&TEC. Anthony Wolfe pulled one back in the 70th minute for North East Stars, but the 2006 Pro League top scorer could not complete the comeback for his team. Ryan Stewart had the opportunity to level the scoring but missed a late penalty which would have forced extra time.
The results meant T&TEC and Caledonia sealed a place in Friday’s semifinal. T&TEC would book a place against Defence Force, which hammered Adam’s Construction San Juan Jabloteh 6–0 in the second match of the other double header played down south at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella.
Ross Russell Jr was the hero as he managed to slot home a superb hat-trick (20th, 59th and 90th). Last season’s Pro League top scorer, forward Richard Roy opened for Defence Force in the fifth minute. Michael Edwards got the other item late on in the 88th minute to make it 5–0.
In the opener at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, W Connection held on to an early strike from Jelani Grosvenor (20th) to defeat Police 1–0.
The win for W Connection gave them a semifinal spot against Caledonia. The match will be the first of a double-header played at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, on Friday. It will begin at 6 pm, and will be followed by the clash between T&TEC and Defence Force which will kick off at 8 pm.
Results
W Connection 1 (Jelani Grosvenor 22nd) vs Police FC 0.
T&TEC 2 (Anthony Noreiga 17th. 30th) vs North East Stars 1 (Anthony Wolfe 70th).
Caledonia AIA 3 (Devorn Jorsling 25th, 90th, Abdallah Phillips 39th) vs St Ann’s Rangers 1 (Cameron Roget 57th).
Defence Force 6 (Richard Roy 5th, 71st, Ross Russell Jr 20th, 59th, 90th, Michael Edwards 88th) vs San Juan Jabloteh 0
Big four into Pro Bowl semis
By Ian Prescott (Express).
THE top four teams at the end of the 2011 -2012 Digicel Pro League season have also all made it to the semi-final stage of the season-ending $100,000 Digicel Pro Bowl football competition.
Friday's semi-finals will see Pro League champions W Connection facing third-placed finishers Caledonia AIA in the 6 p.m. opening match of a Mannie Ramjohn Stadium double-header, while Pro League runners-up T&TEC face the n in-form Defence Force, who ended fourth in the League.
On Friday, Jelani Grovesnor's 22nd minute goal saw W Connection see off Police, while an Anthony Noreiga double (17th & 30th) saw T&TEC take a two-goal lead before Anthony Wolfe got a consolation, as Directv North East Stars were defeated 2-1.
At the Hasely Crawford Stadium, beaten Lucozade Goal Shield finalists Defence Force trampled Adams Construction San Juan Jabloteh 6-0. Young Ross Russell Jr. netted a hat-trick (20th, 59th, 90th), striker Richard Roy netted a brace (fifth & 71st) and veteran defender Michael Edwards (88th) got the other goal. And Caledonia AIA had to work much harder than the score suggested to get a 3-1 win over St Ann's Rangers.
In fact, FA Trophy, First Citizens Cup and Lucozade Goal Shield champions Caledonia benefitted from a combination of excellent keeping from their Jamaican goalie Kevin Graham and wasteful Rangers finishing.
Graham made at least four big saves, including a double-stop off Devorn Modeste from the penalty spot. Rangers were awarded the penalty in the 23rd when AIA central defender Radanfah Abu Bakr handled the ball rather than let Modeste lift it over his head. Modeste stepped up, but Graham save both his firm initial shot and the rebound as well.
And Rangers were punished when striker Devorn Jorsling netted a free-kick from atop the 18-metre box in the 25th minute to give Caledonia a 1-0 lead and midfielder Abdallah Phillips doubled Caledonia's advantage with a low shot that skimmed into the right corner of the net in the 39th minute.
Rangers goalie Shane Mattis was forced into action early in the half when he tipped over a long range shot from AIA captain Stephan David. However, the St Ann's team had territorial advantage for much of the final 45 minutes.
Graham was again called into action when Rangers central midfielder Mikhail Awai fired in a stinging free-kick, but when the rebound came to Modeste, he wasted it. Rangers eventually got closer at 2-1 in the 57th, striker Cameron Roget sweeping the ball into a gaping net after an unselfish set-up by veteran Hector Sam.
But when given an almost identical chance to equalise in the 69th, Roget only found the body of the desperately sprawling keeper Graham, whose momentum carried the ball wide. Graham would stay down for a while, and eventually left the match injured, but his heroics kept AIA ahead, allowing Jorsling to net again in the final minute of the match, making the final score 3-1.
Teams
North East Stars—Andrew Durant, Charles Pollard (capt.), Keion Goodridge, Jeromie Williams (Kaydion Gabriel 62nd), Anthony Wolfe, Jeronimo Wendes De Sousa, Gary Glasgow (Kareem Perry 46th), Kayode McKinnon, Ryan Stewart, Seon Power, Keryn Navarro.
T&TEC FC—Clayton Ince (capt.), Corneal Thomas, Romauld Aguillera, Sylvester Teesdale, Glen Sutton (Javed Mohammed 78th), Keeron Britto, Anthony Noriega, Bevon Bass (Marcus Joseph 65th), Akeem Adams, Aubrey David, Shackeil Henry (Kerry Baptiste 65th).
Teams
W Connection—Aquelius Sylvester, Kern Cupid (capt.), Akeem Benjamin, Kemuel Rivers, Jelani Grosvenor, Christian Viveros (Kenaz Williams 46th), Keon Quow (Jomal Williams 60th), Matthew Woo Ling, Anthony Parris, Johan Peltier (Akeem Humphrey 74th), Neil Benjamin
Police FC—Adisa Alleyne, Todd Ryan (capt.), Errol Charles, Dexter Alleyne, Anton Hutchinson, Marc Rivers (Kareem Young 58th), Keron Clarke (Noel Williams 60th), Kurdell Braithwaite (Dwight Elliot 68th), Jevon Morris, Vernell Ramirez, Weslie John.
DIGICEL PRO BOWL SEMI-FINAL MATCHES
6 p.m. — W Connection v Caledonia AIA, Mannie Ramjohn Stadium
8 p.m. — T&TEC v Defence Force, Mannie Ramjohn Stadium