Wolfe leads Jabloteh past Rangers 4-1.
By: Nigel Simon (Guardian).[/size]
Soca Warriors midfielder Anthony Wolfe scored two goals and earned two penalty-kicks which helped inspired San Juan Jabloteh to a 4-1 win over Superstar Rangers in third round play in the T&T Professional Football League Senior Division at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar.
With the win on Tuesday night, San Juan Jabloteh who were without coach English-born Terry Fenwick for the second consecutive match, through suspension, climbed to maximum nine points, two ahead of defending champions VIBE CT 105 W Connection.
W Connection trounced host Tobago United 3-0 while Joe Public also had a similar 3-0 shut-out of Defence Force.
United Petrotrin edged Starworld Strikers 1-0 and North East Stars got the better of Neal & Massy Caledonia AIA 3-2 in the other match up on the night’s programme.
With national coach Leo Beenhakker among the spectators at Malabar, Wolfe and fellow T&T players Aurtis Whitley and Cyd Gray were eager to put on a good display.
Whitley had two good chances to put his team in front within the first 20 minutes, but on both occasions he was denied by defender Colin Roberts, who cleared off the goal-line and then by goalkeeper Jason “Zenga” Bowen, who came off his line to parry away his point-blank effort.
Wolfe then earned his team the first of two penalties in the 30th minute, when he was dragged down by Roberts, just inside the top right hand corner of the penalty-area which left referee Richard Piper with no choice, but to point to the penalty spot.
Whitley then slooted the ball down the middle of the goal as goalkeeper Bowen went to his right for a 1-0 lead and within three minutes, Roberts hacked down Wolfe for the second time inside the area.
Again Piper pointed to the spot, only for Bowen to come up big this time and parry away Kerry Baptiste’s right footed attempt to keep the score at 1-0 at the half.
Ten minutes after the re-start an unmarked Peter Prosper headed in a miscued effort by teammate Keyeno Thomas from a Josh Johnson right sided centre.
It did not take Rangers too long to get back into the match as Dean Pacheco slammed home from the edge of the box past Jabloteh goalkeeper Brian James, from a chested down off a Shem Mc Farlane pass.
The St Ann’s-based Rangers club were then reduced to ten men when defender Rafer Ross in an effort to earn his team a penalty fell to the ground, under little contact and was shown a second-yellow by Piper for acting. In the 83rd minute Johnson beat the off-side trap and passed to Wolfe, who slammed the ball into an open goal from eight yards out and with seconds ticking away, Wolfe netted his second of the match.
Teams:Jabloteh – Brian James, Ian Gray, Ronald Primus, Keyeno Thomas, Cyd Gray, Trent Noel, Kerry Baptiste, Aurtis Whitley, Josh Johnson, Peter Prosper, Anthony Wolfe.
Substitutes - Jason Marcano, Brent Rahim, Akiel Guevara.
Superstar Rangers – Jason Bowen, Rafer Ross, Dean Pacheco, Colin Roberts, Kevin Williams, Kern Thomas, Todd Ryan, Josimar Belgrave, Kerwin Cooper, Jason Eastman, Don Morris.
Substitutes - Shem McFarlane, Corneal Thomas.
Stars survive Caledonia late surge.In the night’s opener at Malabar, North East Stars got first-half goals from Marvin Oliver, Leslie Holligan and Charles Pollard to record a 3-2 win over Caledonia AIA.
Stars were first to settle and from a left sided cross by Kayode McKinnon, Oliver connected with the ball which whistled past goalkeeper Michael Woods for the match’s opening goal.
Stars scored again in the 22nd minute from Leslie Holligan pass.
A counter-attack was started by Kendall Velox, who picked out McKinnon free on the left hand side of the field and he then whipped in a pass to the far post for Holligan, who met the ball on the bounce and blasted his sweetly time volley over the head of Woods and into the roof of the net, drawing loud applause from the crowd on hand.
Team captain, Charles Pollard then headed in the third in the 31st minute from another left-sided cross which his team took into the interval.
McKinnon and AIA’s Kevin James both came close to scoring for their respective club’s from free-kicks that hit the post in the 55th and 60th minute, before Sheldon Emmanuel wasted a chance to cut into Stars’ lead when his weak penalty, awarded by referee Shane De Silva for a handled ball was pushed around the post by Steven Edwards.
However Edwards, could do little to stop a fierce Anthony Thompson drive from hitting the back of the net in the 80th minute and four minutes later Thompson was on spot to tap in a left-sided centre from Emmanuel to set up a nervous last few minutes, which Stars managed to withstand.
Teams:Defence Force – Cleon John, Anton Pierre, Michael Edwards, Claude Adams, David Allenyne, Anton Joseph, Cory Rivers, Jerwyn Balthazar, Ronald Boyce, Devon Jorsling, Kevon Carter.
Substitutes – Ronald St. Louis, Dexter Pacheco, Christian Baptiste.
North East Stars – Steven Edwards, Charles Pollard, Howard Lowe, Kendall Velox, Kayode McKinnon, Marvin Oliver, Shawn Beveney, Vernon Bailey, Walter Moore, Kevin Jeffrey, Shandel Samuel.
Substitutes – Kerwin Matthew, Leslie Holligan, Wesley Noreiga.
Tuesday’s PFL resultsJoe Public 3 (Jorge Da Silva 30th, Gary Glasgow 35th, Arnold Dwarika 55th) vs Defence Force 0.
North East Stars 3 (Marvin Oliver 6th, Leslie Holligan 22nd, Charles Pollard 31st) vs Caledonia AIA 2 (Anthony Thompson 2).
San Juan Jabloteh 4 (Anthony Wolfe 84th, 90th, Aurtis Whitley 30th, Peter Prosper 51st) vs Superstar Rangers 1 (Dean Pacheco 55th).
Utd Petrotrin 1 (Sylvester Teasdale 66th) vs Starworld Strikers 0.
W Connection 3 (Clyde Leon 60th, Nicholson Thomas 63rd, Andre Toussaint 81st) vs Tobago Utd 0.
San Fernando Starworld Strikers defender Dexter Franklin, right, looks solid as a rock as he screens the ball from Romauld Aguillera of United Petrotrin in a T&T Pro League South derby which the "Oil Boys" won by a 1-0 margin. ... Trinidad Express Photo.
