Lloyd “Sonoltee” Andrews, coach of the Defence Force has credited their fitness level and entire support staff for his team’s capture of the inaugural T&T Premier Football League title on saturday, the record-extending 24th in the team’s history.
The 60-year-old coach Andrews also led Defence Force to its fourth and final T&T Pro League in the competition’s 20-year history in the 2019/2020 campaign, his debut season as coach, and the first for the team since 2012/2013.
The Army/Coast Guard, a dominant force in local and Concacaf football back in the day, previously won the national league crowns from 1974 to 1995.
They missed out on titles in 1986, 1991 and 1994. The team celebrated as Semi-Professional League champions in 1996 and 1997 and captured the inaugural T&T Pro title in 1999, and then in 2010/2011.
The team’s success in the 2019/2020 season came after the league competition was cut-short with three matches left for each club in the 11-team Pro League season due to the worldwide coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Defence Force was Concacaf champions in 1978 and 1987.
However, a decision was then taken by the then competition organisers to declare the ‘Teteron Men’ as league champions with three matches left to complete the season.
After no local competition was held for the past two seasons for various reasons, the T&TPFL under the supervision of Chief Executive Officer Colin Wharfe took kicked off in mid-March, and going into Saturday’s final match day of the 12-club competition which consisted of two rounds of matches, the ‘Teteron Men’ with 53 points, trailed the Walt Noreiga-coached AC Port-of-Spain (55 points), and needed nothing less than a win to snatch the title.
At the end of a pulsating contest watched by 2,000-plus spectators at the Arima Municipal Stadium, Arima, goals from national defender Justin Garcia and Kaihim Thomas were enough to get the Army/Coast-Guard combination over the line in a 2-1 win over AC PoS, who had captain Duane Muckette on target late on.
Speaking after the win Andrews said his team’s triumph could not be accomplished without the tremendous support behind the scenes as well.
“I will like to thank Chief of Defence Staff, Major Thompson, Col. Charles, Lt Dookie, and Lt Ottley who have all been very supportive to us, working hard and giving their full backing in the background.”
He added: “My assistant coaches Devin Elcock, and Hutson “Barber’ Charles, chairman Keston Charles and team manager Basil Thompson, and most importantly, the players and all other supporting personnel.
“Because this is a result of us all working together with the same vision and goal, and in the end, we were able to come away with the league title, stated Andrews.
The “Teteron Boys” also won the Ascension Football Invitational Tournament, which was hosted by businessman Richard Ferguson, owner of Terminix La Horquetta before the start of the 2019/2020 Pro League season when local football resumed after the pandemic.
However, last year the “Teteron Men” had to settle for the runner-up spot behind the Rangers in the second edition of the Ascension Tournament.
When the inaugural season of the T&T Premier Football League kicked off in March, the perennial kings of domestic football were eager to be among the title contenders but suffered a shock 3-0 loss at AC Port-of-Spain at the Arima Municipal Stadium, on March 11, 2023. According to Andrews, that defeat ignited his team into the machine they ended the league campaign in, winning their last five matches to claim the $125,000 winners’ prize.
He said: “At the beginning of the competition we lost our first match, and it was a matter of us being unable to prepare for the start of the tournament in the way we wanted to, and to be honest it served as a wake-up call for us, in terms of our lack of intensity and physical preparation.
“What worked in our favour as well was that our next match against Rangers had to be postponed due to them being out of the country on a Caribbean tour and we didn’t play for about two weeks, and during that time we worked on our physical fitness level and intensity because it is unheard of that a Defence Force team will go into any competition, not in top physical shape, and that’s what happened with us.”
“And when we got up to speed it was evident that a lot of the things which were affecting us was mainly due to our lack of fitness, and after the next two matches against Pt Fortin Civic (2-1 win), and Police (2-0 win) you could have seen the work we managed to get in during the break for us helped us to correct a lot of our weak points.
Andrews also credited the depth of his squad and being able to give players a break as key to his team’s run to the title.
He noted: “During the campaign we had a few players going out on national duty like Justin Sadoo, Justin Garcia, Kevon Goddard, Reon Moore, Jelani Felix, Kaihim Thomas, and Curtis Gonzales.
“And losing these players to national duty didn’t create a problem, as we were able to create a strong core whereby if one man was missing it was the next man up, and players like Cassim Kellar, captain Jamali Garcia (captain), Darius Ollivierra, Kendell Hitlal Hashim Arcia, Dwight Quintero, Brent Sam and Lashawn Roberts all stepped up and played key roles throughout the season.
“In the end, we had to chop and change the team due to the international matches for the national team, but having created that pool of players I think it helped us to finish strong, as we were always there in the hunt waiting for the teams around us to slip up, and in the end, we got the chance to claim the title, and we took it on the final day.”
Despite claiming the league crown, his second in as many outings in charge, Andrew admitted that it was not his team’s first target.
“Our first target was to qualify for the Concacaf Club competitions, and to do so, we needed to be among the top three clubs by a certain stage of the competition. And we said to ourselves, once we are there in the top three, we are in with a chance to win the title.
With the T&TPFL knockout competition and the Concacaf competition to come, Andrews said much more focus will be put towards the international tournament.
He added: “We will not be putting much attention on the knockout because we want to make a major impact in the Concacaf competition. So, while we want to keep the players’ energy levels up and focus, we will be making a few changes to the team as we have made our choice as to which tournament to put more focus on.
“For the knockout, we will still be putting out a strong team, but at the same time, if we fail to win that competition, it must not in any way affect our preparations for the Concacaf tournament.
In the Concacaf Caribbean Cup Defence Force and AC PoS will compete in Group A with Cavalier FC (Jamaica), Moca FC (Dominican Republic), and the Caribbean Club Shield runner-up.
Group B comprises Cibao FC and CA Pantoja, both of the Dominican Republic, Harbour View FC (Jamaica), Dunbeholden FC (Jamaica), and the Caribbean Club Shield champion.
At the end of the two round-robin groups, the top two teams will qualify for the semifinals, and then the final, with the tournament serving as the qualifier for the new-look 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup, which will feature 27 clubs from the competition.
T&T’s Tiger Tanks Club Sando will contest Group D of the Concacaf Caribbean Shield with SV Dakota (Aruba), Solidarité Scolaire (Guadeloupe), SWA Sharks FC (Turks and Caicos Islands), and at the end of the four groups the group winners will qualify to the semifinals with the finalist advancing to the Concacaf Caribbean Cup, as well.
SOURCE: T&T Guardian
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