TRINIDAD DEFEATED JAMAICA 1-0 to even the two-game inter-colonial soccer series before 4,000 spectators at Sabina Park yesterday afternoon. For 45 of the 0-minutes game the winners played with ten men as their outside right, Carlton Lewis, got hurt ten minutes before the interval.
Before the start of the game members of both teams were introduced to His Excellency the Governor, Sir Hugh Foot, in bright sunshine.
Trinidad made nine changed in their team which lost 3-2 to Jamaica on Monday afternoon. Their team yesterday was: Joey Gonsalves, goal; Gerry Parsons, right back; Bernard Garcia, left back; Delbert Charleau, right half; Ian Seale, centre half; Doyle Griffith, left half; Carlton Lewis, outside right; Robert Hamel-Smith, inside right; Paul Carr, centre forward; Michael Nunes, inside left; and Horace Lovelace, outside left.
Griffith and Lewis played in the first match.
Jamaica made no changes.
Referee Bunny Barber was in charge with referees Johnny Wongsam and Gilmore Delgado officiating as linesmen.
The game began with Trinidad kicking off into the southern goal.
Carr passed to Hamel-Smith; Hamel-Smith dribbled between Largie and Alcock and let through Lewis who cut in, but Sharrers, quick on the move, tackled Lewis and cleared well upfield.
A windy afternoon and an extremely hard surface made anticipation very uncertain and Ansell was beaten by a ball which broke away at the last moment.
Both teams insisted on keeping the ball in the air and this robbed play of a pattern.
First effort at ground attack came from Trinidad whose wing halves in attacking moved towards their wing forwards and then swung sharp passes in the centre.
But vigorous clearances by Jamaica's defence lines blunted these movements by the Trinidad team who were instructed by their manager Eric James not "to expose themselves to injury by taking unnecessary chances."
Jamaica had two close calls, first, when Nunes, at the inside left station, slammed a centre from Lewis first-timer and the ball beat Murphy all the way to hit the inside of the upright and bounce back into play, and again when Lovelace slipped by an advancing keeper and kicked goalwards, only to see Sharrers take the ball off the line.
Player hurt
Ten minutes before half time Lewis got hurt in a melee with Sharrers and left the field with a twisted ankle for the rest of the game.
At half time the score was nil all. In the second half Tappin was shifted to outside right and Ansell moved to centre on the Jamaica team, whilst Hamel-Smith went to centre forward for Trinidad.
There was a change of tactics by Trinidad who now resorted to long passing. Jamaica attacked through the centre and during this half Gerry Parsons showed up to great advantage tackling and intercepting several passes with his head.
The only goal of the game came in the sixty-second minute of play. Outside left Lovelace centred high and as the ball deflected off Henry Miller's head. Hamel-Smith took a first-timer which beat Murphy all the way.
Play continued at half-effort for the rest of the match.