La Horquetta XF survived a late scare to go top of the Emerald Apartments and Plaza Eastern Football Association (EFA) First Division standings, with a 2-1 victory over Athletico SI, over the weekend.
In-form attacker Shaquille Bertrand opened the scoring in the 11th minute, to give La Horquetta a 1-0 lead at the half, before Kern Roberts doubled up with 20 minutes to go.
However, Warren Straker pulled one back in the 77th minute in an effort to revive Athletico, but the scoring was finished as La Horquetta pulled away from previous leaders T&T Prisons, which has two matches in hand.
Richard Seetahal recorded a late double to add to Kevin Mungo, Keron Mark and Christopher Beharrysingh’s efforts. Ajaya Douglas got the other goal with five minutes remaining. In the other matches, Crompton SC secured its first point of the season after drawing 1-1 with Crowne SC.
SKHY FC, meanwhile, edged Creek FC 1-0, with an own-goal deciding the outcome. Action in the semi-finals of the FA Cup competition will kick-off this evening at the La Horquetta Recreation Ground and Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar, Arima.
At Malabar, the home side Malabar FC will be seeking to make full use of home advantage when they entertain Boss FC from 4.15 pm, and 45 minutes later, Horquetta SA will host Joe Public in La Horquetta.
La Horquetta advantaged to this stage of the knockout with a comfortable 2-0 win over a struggling WASA FC outfit in their semi-final match-up. Omeku Barbour netted in the 52nd minute and Dennison Francois added the other in the 87th minute to seal the deal for La Horquetta.
On the other hand, Joe Public reached the semi-final with a thumping 6-0 triumph over John United. Rasheed Griffith (5th and 38th) and Julien Nathan (40th and 80th) registered braces for Joe Public, while Kernel Osbourne (30th) and Mohammed Nakhid (86th) chipped in with the other two items. Malabar secured their spot in the last four with an impressive 2-1 over Valtrin United.
Michael Hospedales had a double in the 14th and 71st minutes for the winners. Surprised package Boss FC earned a place in today’s semis on the back of a decent 2-0 success over Malta Carib Alcons, with goals from Nkosi David (44th) and Anthony Applewhite (71st). The final is carded for Sunday 26 at the Marvin Lee Stadium, starting at 4.15 pm.
Results
Tunapuna Titans 6 (Kevin Mungo 37th, Keron Mark 40th, Christopher Beharrysingh 51st, Richard Seetahal 75th, 78th, Ajaya Douglas 85th) v Pinto United 0
Crompton SC 1 (Sean Diaz 60th) v Crowne SC 1 (Stephan Joseph 70th)
SKHY FC 1 (Og 31st) v Creek FC 0
La Horquetta XF 2 (Shaquille Bertrand 11th, Kern Roberts 69th) v Atletico SI 1 (Warren Straker 77th)
Premier Division Standings
Teams P W D L F A Pts
Malabar FC 8 6 1 1 36 5 19
Joe Public 8 5 2 1 23 9 17
La Horquetta SA 8 4 2 2 16 12 14
Carib FC 8 4 1 3 13 22 13
Valtrin 8 4 0 4 11 12 12
WASA FC 8 3 1 4 18 13 10
Boss FC 8 2 4 4 12 21 10
FC Maloney 8 1 3 4 4 7 6
St John’s Utd 8 0 1 7 4 22 1
First Division Standings
Teams P W D L F A Pts
La Horquetta XF 10 6 1 3 23 19 19
Prisons 8 5 2 1 20 8 17
Athletico SI 9 5 1 3 31 21 16
Tunapuna Titans 8 4 3 1 22 12 15
SKHY FC 9 4 3 2 24 22 14
Pinto Utd 9 3 3 3 16 28 12
FCM Supreme XI 6 3 2 1 18 9 11
Malta Carib Alcons 7 3 1 3 21 17 10
Creek SCC 8 2 2 4 15 13 8
Crowne Utd 9 0 2 7 15 37 2
Cromptons 8 0 1 7 6 37 1