VETERAN striker Kevon “Showtime” Woodley continued his fine scoring form in the 2023/24 TT Premier Football (TTPFL) season when he scored a hat-trick against Heritage Petroleum Point Fortin Civic to lead Caledonia to a comprehensive 6-1 win at the Arima Velodrome on May 8.
In the second game of a double-header, the visiting Civic team grabbed the lead in the 14th minute when the in-form Ezekiel Kesar notched his tenth goal of the campaign with a sharp shot into the bottom corner from outside the area.
Kesar’s early goal seemed to open the floodgates at the other end, though, as Caledonia laid siege to the Point Fortin goal with constant raids down either flank.
After hurriedly blazing a ninth-minute effort over the bar, Caledonia’s Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) standout Lindell Sween restored parity in the 22nd minute when he drilled a shot into the bottom corner with his cultured left foot.
After the equaliser, the velodrome turned into Woodley’s playground, and the lanky Tobago marksman terrorised the Civic defence as he bagged a treble to take his season’s tally to a league-high 16 goals.
Woodley’s first goal came in the 31st minute as he rolled into an unguarded net after a calamitous mix-up at the back for Civic. In the 36th minute, after receiving a pass down the right from Sween, Woodley showed off his silky skill and close control when he put a defender on his back before slamming in a left-footed shot at the near post to make it 3-1.
Former Miscellaneous Police FC midfielder Gabriel Nanton made it 4-1 in the 54th minute, while the 37-year-old Showtime completed his hat-trick just after the hour mark to make it 5-1 for a rampant Caledonia team.
Just before the final whistle, Jamaican midfielder Shawn Daley put Civic out of their misery when he scored Caledonia’s sixth and final goal in the 90th minute. With the mammoth victory, Caledonia moved to 24 points and made a big jump from ninth to sixth – leapfrogging Civic in the process. The southern team dropped to seventh after suffering their eighth loss of the season.
On the final day of the season on May 19, Civic will have their shot at redemption and the chance to influence the title race when they meet the second-placed AC PoS at Mahaica Oval, Point Fortin.
TTFPL tier one standings:
Team*GP*W*D*L*GF*GA*GD*Pts
1.Police FC*19*11*6*2*42*20*22*39
2.AC PoS*18*11*5*2*43*21*22*38
3.Defence Force FC*18*10*4*4*33*18*15*34
4.Club Sando*18*9*5*4*30*21*9*32
5.La Horquetta Rangers*18*7*4*7*36*33*3*25
6.Caledonia*19*6*6*7*32*26*6*24
7.Point Fortin Civic*19*6*5*8*26*27*-1*23
8.1976 FC Phoenix*18*7*2*9*30*35*-5*23
9.Prisons FC*19*7*1*11*24*35*-11*22
10.Eagles FC*18*5*4*9*21*28*-7*19
11.Central FC*18*0*2*16*12*65*-53*2
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