Police Officers were called in when members of River Plate of Puerto Rico and San Juan Jabloteh players were involved in a brawl, following their Caribbean Football Union Club Championship Second Round Group D decider, at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar, yesterday.
The Puerto Ricans were unhappy after going under to a Jason Marcano strike in the 75th minute, his third in two matches which secured a spot in the CFU Club Championship Final Round series, scheduled for Puerto Rico later this month.
Marcano was punched in the face when he tried to shake hands with the visitors at the sound of Jamaican referee Courtney Campbell’s whistle to signal the end of the match.
It is alleged goalkeeper Cleon John was also spat on and this did not go down well with Jabloteh players and the crowd and eventually led to the brawl with spectators joining in the altercation was partially quelled by Campbell and his assistants while a gunshot was fired by a security guard in an effort to stop the melee.
CFU Acting General Secretary, Neville Ferguson, along with other T&T Football Federation officials, Lennox Watson and Sharon O’Brien, were among those who tried to resolve the situation.
The match was full of incident as four players were issued red cards. River Plate’s Maximiliano Vallejo, Raúl Ruiz (78th) and Jorge Gonzales (85th), and Jabloteh’s Cyrano Glen (75th minute).
Jabloteh, 2-0 winners over Guyana’s Alpha United last Wednesday, needed only a draw to book a place in the Final Round four-team tournament while the Puerto Ricans needed nothing less than a victory after a 1-1 draw with Alpha United on Friday.
With the win, the Terry Fenwick-coached Jabloteh stayed on course for a third CFU club title after it ended the three-team group with maximum six points. River Plate, named after one of Argentina’s top clubs and Alpha ended with a point each.
In yesterday’s second match, reigning Digicel T&T Pro League champions, Joe Public also went into its match in Group C versus St Vincent and The Grenadines, System 3 needing only a draw to qualify the Eastern Lions won 3-1.
Jabloteh, Joe Public qualify for CFU final round.
By: Ian Prescott (T&T Express).
Blows, bullets in Arima...
It looked much like a bar-room brawl, minus the bar. And it took two loud gunshots to restore control after Sunday’s Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Caribbean Club Champions Cup match between Trinidad and Tobago’s San Juan Jabloteh and River Plate of Puerto Rico erupted into an all-out battle unlike anything seen in local football before.
Jabloteh had just won 1-0 on a 65th minute Jason Marcano goal when River Plate attacked a couple of their players at the end of the match at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar.
The fracas overshadowed Joe Public’s 3-1 victory over System 3 in the later match, which ensured that both T&T clubs advanced to the April 28 - May 10 CFU final round, along with Puerto Rican clubs Bayamon FC and Puerto Rico Islanders.
Throughout the 90 minutes, Jamaican referee Courtney Campbell had a tough time controlling a heated match, which was laden with heavy tackles. And as a consequence, both River Plate’s Maximiliano Vallejo (44th) and Raul Osvaldo Ruiz (78th) received red cards and were sent off, along with Jabloteh striker Cyrano Glen (72nd).
But, the real action took place at the end of the match, when an enraged River Plate, with nine Argentines in their starting line-up, attacked both Jabloteh’s Marvin Oliver and goalie Cleon John, who was involved in Ruiz’s dismissal.
At one point, Jabloteh central defender Karlon Murray seemed to be running for his life, pursued as he was by half a dozen River Plate men before his Jabloteh teammate Jason Marcano came to his rescue.
River Plate footballers also attacked the local security firm that tried to restore control and the situation only finally settled down after two shots were fired in the air.
Earlier, it also looked like a fight would start within the Jabloteh ranks when their English head coach Terry Fenwick appeared to ’clout’ his striker Cyrano Glen on the head for being sent off. Glen retaliated by swinging his arms at Fenwick, and the two men appeared to square off for a moment before the tension subsided.
Present to witness the fracas was Trinidad and Tobago’s Neville Ferguson, the acting general secretary of the Caribbean Football Union.
’I strongly think that there will be action,’ Ferguson declared, when asked about the likely consequences of the brawl. ’We have a disciplinary committee which will look at the matter after we have received an official report on the match.’
Before the heated exchange, the match between Jabloteh and River Plate PR was settled by Marcano’s powerful right-footer after he was put through the centre of the penalty area by Oliver’s through ball.
River Plate were already down a man-before the first half ended-after Ruiz was sent off for a stamp on Jabloteh midfielder Ataullah Guerra. And after going behind, the Puerto Rican team became further enraged when Ruiz went at keeper John with studs showing and was given a red card.
Taking evasive action, keeper John seemed to put out an elbow at the River Plate midfielder, who was taken off on a stretcher, but not before referee Campbell issued him a red card.
All the drama overshadowed Joe Public’s comfortable victory over System 3 of St Vincent and the Grenadines who they beat 3-1 despite losing central defender Radanfah Abu Bakr, who was sent off in the 55th after stopping striker Akeeno Hazelwood’s clear run on goal.
Joe Public were into a two goal-lead and looked in total control at the end of the first half. Top striker Kerry Baptiste had them in front in just the sixth minute after taking Gorean Highley’s cross in the centre of goal and hitting the ball past keeper Ronel Hunte.
Midfielder Trent Noel then made it 2-0 in the 42nd minute when he forced his way into the penalty area and hit a low shot into goal.
The ’Eastern Lions’ lost central defender Abu Bakr after he grabbed at the collar of Akeeno Hazelwood, who outpaced him just inside the penalty box. Narel George hit a low penalty past the dive of keeper Marvin Phillip in the 56th to reduce the score to 2-1.
However, Joe Public always looked the better team and in the 83rd, national Under-20 midfielder Marcus Joseph restored their two-goal advantage, when he faked a defender and hit home a powerful left-footer from the centre of the penalty area.
Teams
Joe Public - Marvin Phillip, Trent Noel, Carlyle Mitchell, Makan Hislop, Radanfah Abu Bakr (Yellow 45, Red 55), Keion Goodridge (Jason Springer 46th), Kerry Baptiste, Hayden Tinto, Kareem Young (Marcus Joseph 46th), Yu Hoshide (Marvin Manswell 58th), Micah Lewis.
Coach: D. King.
System 3 - Kenyan Lynch, Justin Stapleton, Troy Jeffers, Greg Myers, Alanzo Bute (Kiko Lorraine 87th), Akeeno Hazelwood, Joel George (Devon Browne 79th), Milton Prescott (Yellow 72), Seinard Bowens, Krishan Gonsalves (Lenford Olliver 72nd), Norel George.
Coach: K. Mercury.
CFU CLUB CHAMPIONS CUP RESULTS:
San Juan Jabloteh 1 (Jason Marcano 65th) vs River Plate PR 0
Joe Public FC 3 (Kerry Baptiste 6th; Trent Noel, 42nd; Marcus Joseph 83rd) vs Systems Three 1 (Narel George 56th-Pen).
Marcano triggers River Plate as Jabloteh advance in CFU.
ttproleague.com.
It was clear that the Puerto Rican club couldn’t play under pressure against the Pro League club who just needed a draw to advance into the Final round of the CFU Club Championship after defeating Alpha United 2-0 thanks to a pair of goals by Marcano last Wednesday.
The match was full of incidents with match referee Courtney Campbell of Jamaica having to dish out four red cards and ejecting River Plate coach Fabien Zermatten and another technical staff member.
River Plate PR didn’t prove much of a contest against the local side and their first go at goal from a set piece 15 minutes inside the match from above the area was taken by Carlos Alberto Delgado, but he was inches too high of Cleon John's crossbar.
John was later brilliant making a point blank save in the 29th minute after Carlos Alberto Delgado unleashed a shot from above the area.
Frustrations then began to take over the Puerto Ricans and Maximiliano Vallejo received a direct red card in the 42nd minute following a rash challenge on midfielder Ataullah Guerra to reduce River Plate to 10-men.
But that wasn't all as Campbell was forced to direct River Plate's Argentine head coach Fabien Zermatten out of his technical area after numerous warnings for dissent.
Early in the second half River Plate had an attempt on goal in the second period from a corner however John was again sharp to tip Delgado's header wide.
And as a victory seemed more and more difficult for River Plate who were held to a 1-1 draw against Alpha United on Friday—resorted to violent play as their new tactic.
In the 54th minute Delgado deliberately stamped defender Robert Primus unnoticed to the officials among other cheeky knocks by the visitors.
Jabloteh later wasted a couple opportunities until second half substitute Marcano latched onto a through ball beating the River Plate defence and guiding a shot past goalkeeper Mariano Graziano to break the deadlock in the 64th minute for the match winner.
Marcano who replaced injured Guerra changed the entire game for Jabloteh as the most feared player against the Puerto Ricans.
But Jabloteh were reduced to 10-men in the 73rd minute when Cyrano Glen was awarded a direct red card for elbowing Gonzalez—after receiving an initial elbow by the River Plate midfielder. Even coach Terry Fenwick was irritated by his player’s action pushing Glen as he crossed the touchline.
River Plate then lost two more players, Raul Osvaldo Ruiz and Jorge Alfredo Gonzalez after receiving direct red cards by Campbell for dissent and dangerous play respectively to end the match with 8-men.
Result
San Juan Jabloteh 1—0 River Plate
Jason Marcano 64' ;
San Juan Jabloteh—Cleon John, Marvin Oliver (capt), Robert Primus, Sheldon Bateau (Yellow 73), Noel Williams, Karlon Murray (Yellow 15), Ataullah Guerra (Yellow 24) (Jason Marcano 46th), Willis Plaza, Elijah Manners, Cyrano Glen (Red 72), Cordell Cato (Yellow 45) (Anton Hutchinson 68th).
Coach—Terry Fenwick.
River Plate—Mariano Graziano, Alejandro Russo (capt) (Yellow 44), Gonzaldo Robeldo, Matias Ivan Maroni (Jorge Alfredo Gonzalez 65th) (Red 89), Mariano Ezequiel De Siervi, Matias Diaz (Yellow 26), Martin Morello (Yellow 42) (Jose Arroa 82nd), Claudio Ariel Rojas, Carlos Alberto Delgado (Raul Osvaldo Ruiz 78th) (Red 78), Maximiliano Vallejo (Red 44), Santiago Omar Sandoval.
Coach—Fabien Zermatten
Match Referee—Courtney Campbell (JAM)
Assistant Referee 1—Mark Sullivan (JAM)
Assistant Referee 2—Dion Neil (TRI)