In-form national youth striker Nathaniel James upped his season tally to 13 goals when he netted a double to lead Tiger Tanks Club Sando to a comfortable 3-0 win over Prisons Service in their T&T Premier Football League at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella on Sunday.
In addition to James, national utility player, Alvin Jones was also on target for the Cornell Glen-coached Club Sando to improve to 38 points from 15 matches, one behind leaders AC Port-of-Spain as they boosted their claim for a top three positioning by the May 28 deadline given by CONCACAF to the T&T Football Association to select its three tournament representatives for the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield and the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup.
Jones opened the scoring in the tenth minute before James added a late first-half double, in the 38th minute from the penalty spot and two minutes for a 3-0 half-time cushion.
In the second half, Club Sando continued to dominate but failed to add to their tally, and in the end, had to settle for the 3-0 win.
On Saturday, Sedale Mc Lean scored a goal in each half to lead AC Port-of-Spain to a 3-1 win over San Juan Jabloteh at the Ato Boldon Recreation Ground, Bourg Mulatresse, San Juan, to secure a 13th win from 15 matches and pushed its points tally to 39.
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.
In the second match at Arima, Defence Force got goals from Jameel Cooper in the 39th, and Reon Moore in the 68th to beat Cunupia FC 2-0 to move ahead of Rangers in the battle for the third spot with 34 points W Connection and Point Fortin Civic drew goalless at the Mahaica Sporting Complex, Point Fortin.
Tomorrow's programme would see Defence Force and Rangers clashed in a rescheduled match at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar, from 4 pm with implications of a Concacaf spot at stake while Police FC host Central FC at the St James Police Training Barracks Ground, St James, from 5 pm.
Yesterday's Result
Club Sando 3 (Nathaniel James 38th pen, 40th, Alvin Jones 10th) vs Prisons Services 0
Saturday's Results
Defence Force 2 (Jameel Cooper 39th, Reon Moore 68th) vs Cunupia FC 0
Point Fortin Civic 0 vs W Connection 0
AC Port-of-Spain 3 Sedale Mc lean 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)
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 15 12 2 1 34 13 38
3 Defence Force 14 11 1 2 33 10 34
4 L.H Rangers 13 10 1 2 39 16 31
5 Central FC 14 7 1 6 26 23 22
6 Police FC 13 6 1 6 25 24 19
7 W Connection 15 5 3 7 14 19 18
8 Point Fortin Civic 15 3 3 9 9 18 12
9 Morvant Caledonia 15 3 2 10 16 35 11
10 Prisons Service FC 15 3 2 10 8 35 11
11 Jabloteh 15 2 2 11 15 34 8
12 Cunupia FC 15 2 2 11 8 30 8
Tomorrow's matches
Defence Force vs L.H Rangers @ Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar, 4 pm
Police FC vs Central FC at St James Police Training Barracks Ground, St James, 5 pm
RELATED NEWS
Club Sando stay in the hunt, beat Prison FC 3-0.
By Jonathan Ramnanansingh (T&T Newsday).
CLUB Sando FC remain in the hunt for a first-ever TT Premier Football League title as they secured a comfortable 3-0 win over Prison Service FC at Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella on Sunday.
T&T senior player Alvin Jones opened the scoring for Club Sando in the tenth minute to give the home team an early advantage.
Striker Nathaniel James then successfully converted a penalty in the 38th minute to send the home team 2-0 up. But two minutes later, James struck again to extend the lead.
Despite Club Sando’s extensive search for another goal in the second half, and an array of unsuccessful attempts from Prison Service to get on the scoresheet, the match ended 3-0.
The win for Club Sando keeps them in keen title contention in second place, with 38 points, trailing league leaders AC Port of Spain (39 pts). Both have played 15 matches.
On Saturday, AC Port of Spain maintained the top spot by securing a 3-1 triumph over San Juan Jabloteh at Ato Boldon Recreation Ground in Santa Cruz on Saturday.
Sedale McLean (29’) scored first for the Port of Spain team and Maurice Ford made it 2-0 in the 47th minute. Jercole Pierre scored Jabloteh’s lone item in the 60th as McLean netted another in the 73rd to grab three points.
In the two late matches on Saturday night, Defence Force FC climbed into third position on the standings after defeating Cunupia FC 2-0 at the Arima Velodrome while mid-table Point Fortin Civic and W Connection FC played to a 0-0 result at the Mahaica Sports Complex in Point Fortin.
Jameel Cooper opened the scoring for Defence Force in the 39th minute. Into the second half, national senior team player Reon Moore sent them further ahead with his goal in the 68th minute.
The victory for Defence Force (34 pts) saw them overtake Terminix La Horquetta Rangers (31 pts) in the standings, into third.
Rangers stumbled on Saturday as they allowed struggling, ten-man Caledonia AIA to get the better of them 3-2.
Tyrice Dennis (36’) scored first for Caledonia but Kadeem Corbin equalized for Rangers in the 54th. Five minutes later, Dennis found the back of the net once more and Malachi Celestine (80’) put Caledonia further ahead.
Tyrone Charles pulled one back for Rangers in the 84th but Caledonia held their ground until the final whistle.