Reigning champion Real Central made it back-to-back triumphs in the Central Football Association (CFA) Premier Division in somewhat controversial fashion after they were leading Central Strikers 5-0 at the half-time whistle at the Balmain recreation ground, Couva on Sunday night when their opponents opted to forfeit the second half of the contest.
Going into the match, Real Central led the ten-club table with 21 points from eight matches and needed to win to be certain of the $25,000 top prize ahead of Central Soccer World who faced Valiant in the second encounter at Balmain and trailed the leaders by a mere point.
However, any doubts of Real Central lifting the title quickly faded when Chad Andre Baptiste opened the scoring in the 11th minute followed by Neon O'Garro's first of two items on the night in the 17th.
The score quickly turned to 3-0 in the 22nd minute through Miguel Pollard while Shakir Burk extended the advantage to 4-0 in the 26th before O'Garro added the fifth in the 27th.
Central Strikers, who began the match with seven players managed to stem the flow of goals until the half-time whistle, after which they opted not to return to the pitch for the second half after two of the players sustained slight knocks, handing Real Central the win and the title.
In the second match at Balmain, runners-up Central Soccer World who pocketed $15,000 ended the league campaign on a high ahead of its Hugo Francis Memorial Cup semifinal with a 3-1 whipping of Valiant via goals from Dion Lewis, Jeremiah Charles, and Vincent Pendergrass while Valiant got its lone reply from player/coach Keston Cedeno-Cardinez.
At Latchu Trace Recreation Ground, Compadres held onto the third spot and $10,000 after a 1-1 draw with host Latch Trace with Nicaya Mahon's penalty being cancelled out by Leroy Whyle.
In the opening match at Latchu Trace, Perseverance Ball Runners outlasted MIC Tigers 5-3 with Malik Robinson scoring all five goals for the winners while the trio of Syon Prosper, Shem Alexander and Yohance Nurse netted for the losers.
Meanwhile, Central Soccer World and Compadres will hope to add more cash and trophies to their collection as both contest the semifinals of the Hugo Francis Memorial Cup against Ball Runners and Gasparillo Youths, respectively, tomorrow with the winners advancing to the take-all $5,000 final.
Results
Sunday, October 1:
Real Central FC 5 (Neon O'Garro 17th, 27th, Chad Andre Baptiste 11th, Miguel Pollard 22nd, Shakir Burke 26th) vs Central Strikers 0
Perseverance Ball Runners 5 (Malik Robinson 5) vs MIC Tigers 3 (Syon Prosper, Shem Alexander, Yohance Nurse)
Gasparillo Youths 3 vs Xtra Food Tigers 0 - by default
Latchu Trace Youths 1 (Leroy Whyle) vs Compadres 1 (Nicaya Mahon pen)
Central Soccer World 3 (Dion Lewis, Jeremiah Charles, Vincent Pendergrass) vs Valiant 1 (Keston Cedeno-Cardinez)
Current standings
Pl Teams P W D L F A Pts
1 Real Central 9 8 0 1 24 5 24
2 Central Soccer World 9 7 2 0 24 8 23
3 Compadres 8 5 2 1 17 5 17
4 Latchu Trace 9 5 2 2 18 10 17
5 Ball Runners 8 4 0 4 20 15 12
6 MIC Tigers 9 3 0 6 19 25 9
7 Gasparillo Youths 9 2 2 5 13 20 8
8 Valiant FC 9 2 2 5 9 18 8
9 Central Strikers 9 2 2 5 11 22 8
10 XF Arima Tigers 9 0 0 9 8 35 0
Upcoming matches:
Hugo Francis Memorial Cup semifinals:
Wednesday, October 4:
Central Soccer World vs Perseverance Ball Runners, Balmain Rec. Grd, 7 pm
Compadres vs Gasparillo Youths, Lumsden Rec. Grd, 7 pm
SOURCE: T&T Guardian