Khrishawn Joseph scored a goal on either side of the half-time as Stokely Vale stayed on course for promotion to the bmobile National Super League with its second straight victory in the T&T Football Federation (T&TFF) Champion of Champions Tournament, yesterday.
Playing for the second week in a row at the Plymouth Recreation Ground, Tobago, Vale, winners of the Tobago Football Association Premier Division trounced visiting Valencia United, the Eastern Counties Football Union champions, 3-0 to add to last week’s 2-0 win over Siparia Spurs. After dominating most of the first 30 minutes, Antonio Balfour finally opened the scoring for Vale in the 33rd and Joseph added another four minutes before the interval for a 2-0 lead at the half.
With both teams wilting under the scorching sun, Joseph all but secured his team the three points with his second of the match in the 58th minute for a 3-0 cushion which it held until the final whistle. The Tobagonians now head the five-team standings with maximum six points from two matches, the same as Eastern Football Association champs, Valtrin United, but with a better goal-difference. Valtrin also kept up its bid for one of the top two spots on the table to gain promotion with a hard fought 2-1 win over Spurs. Kerlon Osbourne, the goal-getter for Valtrin in its 1-0 win over Petit Valley United last week blasted the visitors into a 12th minute which it carried into the break.
On the resumption, Spurs drew level when Jemare Edwards netted in the 65th minute but with five minutes left in the match, Christopher James snatched a winner for Valtrin. The five-team round-robin competition now takes a two-week break for the Carnival festivities before resuming on February 20. At the end of the series, the top two teams will gain promotion to the bmobile National Super League.
Results:
Yesterday
Valtrin Utd 2 (Kerlon Osbourne 12th, Christopher James 85th) vs Siparia Spurs 1 (Jemare Edwards 65th).
Stokely Vale 3 (Khrishawn Joseph 41st, 58th, Antonio Balfour 33rd) vs Valencia Utd 0.
Remaining fixtures:
February 20
Valtrin Utd vs Valencia Utd, NUGFW Ground, Valsayn, 4 pm
Stokely Vale —bye
Siparia Spurs vs Petit Valley Utd, Siparia, 3.30 pm
February 24
Petit Valley Utd vs Stokely Vale, TBD 4 pm.
Valtrin United—bye
Siparia Spurs vs Valencia Utd, Siparia, 3.30 pm
February 27
Siparia—bye
Valencia Utd vs Petit Valley Utd, TBD, 6 pm
Valtrin Utd vs Stokely Vale, Squadron 3.30 pm