Sedale McLean scored a goal in each half to lead AC Port-of-Spain to a 3-1 triumph over San Juan Jabloteh in their T&T Premier Football League at the Ato Boldon Recreation Ground, Bourg Mulatresse, San Juan on Saturday.
McLean opened the scoring in the 29th minute for AC PoS to hold a slender lead at the end of the first half, and two minutes after the restart Maurice Ford doubled the margin to 2-0.
Jabloteh managed to pull a goal back on the hour mark through Jercole Pierre, but any chances of clawing its way back into the contest soon faded with McLean getting a second item to push the score to 3-1 after which his team played out the remainder of the contest to secure a 13th win from 15 matches and pushed its points tally to 39 four ahead of Tiger Tanks Club Sando who play today.
At the Arima Municipal Stadium, Arima, Guyana's Tyrice Dennis proved a menace for Morvant Caledonia AIA as his double strike and another from Malachi Celestine earned his team a shock 3-2 win over title-chasing La Horquetta Terminx Rangers.
Dennis fired Morvant Caledonia into the lead in the 36th minute for his second goal in as many matches after also scoring against Police in a 4-2 loss in mid-week, which they took into the half-time interval.
Within five minutes of the restart Rangers, chances of a comeback were boosted when Morvant Caledonia AIA's Shade Louis was shown a second yard to leave his team to fight the rest of the way with ten, and in the 54th minute, Rangers who are also seeking a top three positioning by the May 28 deadline given by CONCACAF to the T&T Football Association to select its three club tournament representatives for the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, and the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup managed to draw level via Kadeem Corbin.
However, their joy was short-lived though as Dennis netted his second within four minutes to restore Morvant Caledonia's lead at 2-1 while Celestine then extended Morvant Caledonia's advantage to 3-1 in the 80th.
But with under six minutes left in the match, Rangers got a second item thanks to Tyrone Charles to reduce the deficit to 3-2 to set up an exciting finish, however, Morvant Caledonia held on for the shock win.
Last night, in the second match, Defence Force had a chance to pull ahead of Rangers in the battle for the third spot when they came up against Cunupia FC while W Connection and Point Fortin Civic met at the Mahaica Sporting Complex, Point Fortin.
The clash between Police and Central FC was rescheduled to Tuesday from 7 pm as a part of a doubleheader which will also see the Defence Force tackle Rangers from 5 pm at the St James Police Barracks Training Ground, St James.
One match is carded for today with Tiger Tanks Club Sando entertaining Prisons Service FC at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella from 4 pm.
This year marks a return to CONCACAF Club competitions for T&T clubs since 2018 when former regional powerhouses, and both former Caribbean Football Union Club Championship winners, W Connection (2006, 2009) and Central FC (2015 & 2016), participated.
This was because North East Stars, the 2017 T&T Pro League champions (now known as AC Port-of-Spain), and W Connection, the 2017 T&T Pro League runners-up, were not allowed to compete in the 2019 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship through no real fault of theirs, as TTFA did not properly execute its club licensing program.
Yesterday's Results
AC Port-of-Spain 3 (Sedale McLean 29th, 73rd, Maurice Ford 47th) vs San Juan Jabloteh 1 (Jercole Pierre 60th)
Morvant Caledonia AIA 3 (Tyrice Dennis 36th, 59th, Malachi Celestine 80th) vs La Horquetta Rangers 2 (Kadeem Corbin 54th, Tyrone Charles 84th)
Cunupia FC 0 vs Defence Force 2 (Jameel Cooper 39th, Reon Moore 68th)
W Connection 0 vs Point Fortin Civic 0
Latest Team Standings
Place Team P W D L F A Pts
1 AC PoS 15 13 0 2 40 10 39
2 Club Sando FC 14 11 2 1 31 13 35
3 L.H Rangers 13 10 1 2 39 16 31
4 Defence Force 13 10 1 2 31 10 31
5 Central FC 14 7 1 6 26 23 22
6 Police FC 13 6 1 6 25 24 19
7 W Connection 14 5 2 7 14 19 17
8 Pt Fortin Civic 14 3 2 9 9 18 11
9 Morvant Caledonia 15 3 2 10 16 35 11
10 Prisons Service FC 14 3 2 9 8 32 11
11 Jabloteh 15 2 2 10 15 34 8
12 Cunupia FC 14 2 2 10 8 28 8
RELATED NEWS
Ten-man Caledonia upset Rangers in Trinidad and Tobago Premier League.
By Jelani Beckles (T&T Newsday).
TITLE contenders Terminix La Horquetta Rangers were stunned 3-2 by the struggling Morvant Caledonia on matchday 15 of the TT Premier Football League at Arima Velodrome on Saturday.
Caledonia were huge underdogs in the match with only two wins from 14 games, and their task was made even more difficult when they were reduced to ten men.
Against all odds, Caledonia took the lead in the 36th minute through Tyrice Dennis and they maintained the advantage at the break.
It was a high-scoring second half with four goals being scored. National striker Kadeem Corbin equalised for Rangers in the 54th minute, before Dennis netted again in the 59th to give Caledonia a 2-1 lead.
Malachi Celestine then gave Caledonia a shock two-goal cushion in the 80th minute.
Rangers kept the match interesting as Tyrone Charles found the back of the net in the 84th, but Caledonia held on for full points.
Rangers, who were third heading into the matchday, are now eight points behind leaders AC Port of Spain. However, Rangers have played two matches less than AC Port of Spain.
Before Saturday’s match, Caledonia were 11th in the 12-team standings and have now moved into ninth position.
AC Port of Spain continued their winning ways with a 3-1 victory over struggling San Juan Jabloteh at the Ato Boldon Recreation Ground in Santa Cruz.
Sedale McLean opened the scoring for AC Port of Spain in the 29th minute, a lead they held until half-time.
Two minutes into the second half, Maurice Ford made it 2-0 for AC Port of Spain.
In the 60th minute, Jercole Pierre pulled a goal back for Jabloteh, but McLean secured the win for AC Port of Spain with another goal in the 73rd minute.
AC Port of Spain now have 39 points with 13 wins and two losses.
Matches finished after press time on Saturday. Point Fortin Civic played W Connection at Mahaica Oval in Point Fortin and Cunupia FC played Defence Foce at Arima Velodrome.
In the only match on Sunday, Tiger Tanks Club Sando will face Prison Service FC at Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella at 4 pm.
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