Army edge Rangers 1-0

The decisive moment came when captain and central defender Justin Garcia convert a penalty following a foul by Rangers right-back Caleb Sturge on Army midfielder Jameel Cooper.

Following a shock 3-2 away defeat to struggling Morvant Caledonia United on Saturday, Rangers are fourth on the table on 31 points from 14 matches, having now lost three times this season.

Rangers are six points adrift of third-placed Defence Force (38 pts) from 15 matches. AC Port of Spain (39 pts) top the standings, ahead of Tiger Tanks Club Sando (38 pts). Both have played 15 games.

Results.

Police FC 0 v Central FC 1 (Anslem Jackson 78).

Defence Force 1 (Justin Garcia 35-Pen) v La Horquetta Rangers 0

RELATED NEWS

Garcia lifts Army closer to Concacaf club spot.
T&T Guardian Reports.

Justin Garcia scored his fifth goal of the season to lead Defence Force to a vital 1-0 win over Terminix La Horquetta Rangers, in the first match of a T&T Premier Football League double-header at the St James Police Training Grounds, Long Circular, yesterday.

With the win, the Hutson “Barber” Charles-coached Army/Coast-Guard combination strengthened its claim for a top-three position with 37 points from 15 matches, two adrift of leaders AC Port-of-Spain, and one behind the second-placed Tiger Tanks Club Sando.

The T&T Football Association was given a May 28 deadline to select the three local clubs to compete in the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield (two clubs), and the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup.

However, the defeat for Rangers was a severe blow to its top three hopes as it remained in the fourth spot on the 12-club standings with 31 points following a second straight loss, but with a match in hand against Police carded for May 22.

After an evenly matched first 30 minutes, Defence Force was handed the chance to take the lead in the 35th when Rangers defender Caleb Sturge bundled over Jameel Cooper in the 18-yard box following a through ball from Dwight Quintero.

Garcia then stepped up and fired his team ahead from the spot, with his left-footed penalty kick going in off the base of the left post to help ease teammate Cooper’s pain. Cooper was eventually substituted with Rivaldo Coryat taking his place following the collision with Sturge.

Quintero then wasted a chance to double his team’s advantage on the stroke of halftime, when he blasted a left-footed effort overbar from inside the 18-yard box after being picked out by Reon Moore, following a marauding run on the right side by the T&T winger.

In the second half, both teams failed to create any real chances with Rangers minus the injured Real Gill, and somewhat of a puzzling starting line-up failing to trouble the Defence Force backline and goalkeeper Christopher Bigette, thus falling to a second straight loss, after its shock 2-3 defeat to Morvant Caledonia AIA on Saturday last.

In the second match last night, visitors' Central FC got a 78th minute strike from former national youth player Anslem Jackson to eke out a 1-0 win over Police FC, bolstering its hold on the fifth spot with 25 points from 15 matches.  They are now six ahead of the lawmen, who have an outstanding match against Rangers to be played on Monday, at the La Horquetta Recreation Ground.

TUESDAY’S RESULTS

Defence Force (Justin Garcia 35th pen) vs La Horquetta Rangers – 0

Central FC 1 (Anslem Jackson 78th) vs Police FC – 0

LATEST TEAM STANDING

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 15 12 1 2 34 10 37
4 L.H Rangers 14 10 1 3 39 17 31
5 Central FC 15 8 1 6 27 23 25
6 Police FC 14 6 1 7 25 25 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

LEADING GOALSCORERS

13 – Nathaniel James (Club Sando)

10 – Ataulla Guerra (La Horquetta Rangers)

8 – Brent Sam (Defence Force)

7 – John-Paul Rochford (AC PoS)

6 – Tyrone Charles (La Horquetta Rangers), Nicholas Dillon (Club Sando), Duane Muckette, Che Benny (AC PoS),  Keron Cummings (Central FC)

5 – Dwight Jordan (Jabloteh), Isaiah Lee (La Horquetta Rangers), Kesean St Rose (Central FC), Jameel Neptune, Jomoul Francois (AC PoS), Justin Garcia (Defence Force).

UPCOMING MATCHES

Friday, May 19:

Defence Force vs Prisons Service FC, La Horquetta Recreation Ground, 5 pm

La Horquetta Rangers vs Central FC, La Horquetta Recreation Ground, 7:15 pm

Saturday, May 20:

AC Port-of-Spain vs Morvant Caledonia AIA, St James Police Barracks, 5 pm

Police FC vs Cunupia FC, St James Police Barracks, 7:15 pm

Sunday, May 21:

W Connection vs Club Sando, Mahaica Sporting Complex, Point Fortin, 4 pm

Point Fortin Civic vs San Juan Jabloteh, Mahaica Sporting Complex, Point Fortin, 6:15 pm

Ferguson slams 'poor' Rangers, after loss to Defence Force.
By Jonathan Ramnanansingh (T&T Newsday).

Defence Force earned a scrappy but crucial 1-0 victory over Terminix La Horquetta Rangers in a rescheduled TT Premier Football League fixture at the Police Barracks Grounds in St James on Tuesday.

A well-taken penalty from defender Justin Garcia in the 35th minute sent Rangers crashing to their second straight defeat, after Saturday's shock loss to Morvant Caledonia.

Defence Force started well and won a penalty after defender Caleb Sturge's illegally halted Jameel Cooper with a sliding tackle as he raced through on goal. A grimacing Cooper had to substituted.

Garcia converted by smashing his left footed shot off the lower right post and into the back of the net.

Both teams endured a physical affair and the referee was kept busy.

Into the second half, Defence Force and Rangers cancelled each other out since the majority of their attacking plays posed no real threat to either goalkeeper.

Rangers tried to press for the equaliser but could not break their opponents’ defensive line.

In the final minutes, Defence Force capitalised on tired Rangers legs but they also did not have the finishing touch.

The three points for coach Hutson Charles’ men keeps the race for the inaugural crown in hot contention.

Defence Force remain in third (37pts) but have closed the gap on leaders AC Port of Spain (39pts) and second-placed Club Sando FC (38pts). They’ve all played 15 matches each.

Charles expressed pleasure with the result.

“We came here to get three points and we did it. One of the things I told them is that they have to be aggressive today because Rangers is a running team, so we had to match them, and I think we did that today.”

A clearly disgruntled Rangers owner Richard Ferguson had some choice words for his players, who remain in fourth spot with 31 pts.

“They’re running like how we expected them to play, which is poor. They’re not dribbling, passing, shooting…

"The performance has really been substandard over the past few weeks and it continues to be so,” Ferguson said.

When asked why, he replied, “I think just playing a lot of football. When we played in the Caribbean tour, we came back and had games to make up. We’re playing literally two and three games per week, so they’re getting…it’s stale.”

Meanwhile, Anslem Jackson’s late strike ensured Central FC stayed above Police in the TT Premier Football League standings, in a rescheduled match played at the Police Barracks in St James on Tuesday.

Jackson, who came off the bench, fired the winner in the 78th minute,l in the second match of a double header at the venue. The victory pushed fifth-placed Central FC to 25 points and six points clear of sixth-placed Police. However, Police have played a game less than Central FC.