Jabloteh, W Connection keep winning.
By: Ian Prescott.[/size]
Barrington not worried.
An unprecedented fourth consecutive loss has left nine-time Trinidad and Tobago champions Defence Force last and pointless at the bottom of the T&T Pro League football competition, after four rounds of matches.
Admitting that this may be the Army team's worst-ever start to a local football campaign, newly-returned head coach Anthony Barrington is nevertheless confident of a soon to come turnaround in his team's fortunes.
Commenting on his team's 4-0 defeat to San Juan Jabloteh on Saturday in the opening game of a double-header at the Larry Gomes stadium, Barrington, a former Trinidad and Tobago and Defence Force defender, said : "As coach, I am not worried because my programme started late. This is just the fifth week of my programme and it's not that we are playing that bad. We are just not scoring goals and also we are not defending as well as we could."
Last in charge when his team claimed the FCB Cup in 2002, Barrington said it will take some time for his team to gel, but he expects to be picking up points by the fifth or sixth round of the competition. He said that despite the pressure, he is encouraged by the effort his players are making to carry out his programme.
Meanwhile, new signing Anthony Wolfe scored his fourth goal in as many matches as Jabloteh maintained their 100 percent record. First half headers by big defender Keyeno Thomas and Peter Prosper put Jabloteh comfortably ahead at the half, before Wolfe, the 21-year-old former North East Stars striker, stripped Defence Force's Anton Thomas and drilled his shot over goalkeeper Cleon John to give Jabloteh a third goal. A minute from time Jason Marcano stabbed home a low centre to give his team a fourth goal.
At Couva's Ato Boldon Stadium, defending champions W Connection gradually wore down a stubborn Caledonia AIA defence before coming away comfortable 3-0 winners. The Morvant-based Caledonia AIA held their own until the stroke of half-time when they were finally breached by the superior ball movement of the defending champions. Started on the left flank, the ball was fed to Earl Jean, who swept it through the legs of his marker for Brazilian Ronaldo Viana to run in free on the right flank and slap the ball past Michael Woods in the Caledonia AIA goal.
W Connection began the second half firing on all cylinders and could have blown Caledonia clear out of the match in the opening five minutes. But poor finishing meant they had nothing more to show for their efforts until Jean tucked a low shot past Woods in the 57th minute to make it 2-0 to W Connection. Goalkeeper Woods made even W Connection owner David John Williams applaud when he acrobatically changed direction to palm a shot from Andre Toussaint away from his near post with his left hand. But Woods had no answer to Andre Pacheco's low, angled shot which beat the keeper before nestling inside the far corner of the AIA goal in the 86th minute of the match. Caledonia created few chances, but should have scored before Connection got their third. A bad bounce surprised Connection keeper Jan Michael Williams who fended a corner-kick away from his goal, but straight to AIA defender Stephen Gray who, unfortunately for his team, stabbed his shot just wide.
In the second game of the double-header at the Larry Gomes Stadium, two goals from Arnold Dwarika, including a penalty, put Joe Public comfortably ahead in their match with Superstar Rangers, before Lyndon "Chubby" Andrews put away a cross-ball for the third goal. Kerwyn "Hardest" Jemmott then drove home a shot from 20 metres to give Joe Public a 4-0 victory. Saturday's final game, at Palo Seco, saw Tobago United holding United Petrotrin 1-1 to pick up their first points of the season.
San Jaun Jabloteh stay unbeaten.
By: Joel Villafana.
San Juan Jabloteh remained unbeaten in the 2006 T&T Pro League, after completing a 4-0 win over Defence Force at the Larry Gomes Stadium on Saturday night.
World cup bound striker Anthony Wolfe got his 2nd straight double as
Jabloteh dominated their northern counterparts.
The Army now sitting at the bottom of the table, are without a point after
four matches, and Jabloteh are soaring to the top, two points clear of the
arch rivals W Connection.
Jabloteh opened the scoring in the game in the 12th minute. Keyno Thomas headed home the opening goal, after a well worked free kick found him unmarked; Jabloteh in front 1-0.
Peter Prosper used his head as well in the 29th minute to give Jabloteh a
2-0 cushion heading in to the dressing rooms.
In the 2nd half the Army tried to string some passes together, and in the
54th minute Ronald Boyce called Jabloteh’s custodian Brain James into action as he saved an effort from some 25 yards out.
But Jabloteh never fell asleep and in the 59th minute, national striker
Anthony Wolfe took advantage of a defensive mix up and he scored to give the boys from San Juan a 3-0 lead.
Jason Marcano came on as a substitute in the 2nd half, and immediately made an impact, with his stunning speed and skill, he combined well with Wolfe and in the 65th minute he forced the Defence Force keeper Cleon John to save a low drive.
Defence Force had their moments few and far between. Former National under 23 striker Kevon Carter should have at least got a consolation goal for the Army in the 73rd minute, as he did all the hard work, out running Ronald Primus, only to see his shot go wide of the mark.
It go worse in the 75th minute, the army was down to ten men, when Kenrick Saunders was red carded when he was pulled down Anthony Wolfe just outside the 6 yard box heading to goal. The resulting free kick saw Aurtis Whitley’s effort crashing against the wall and going over bar.
In the final moments of the game, Jabloteh kept pressing, and Marcano should have gotten his name on the score-sheet, when his outstretched volley just went over the bar; but just minutes later in the 89th minute he made up for his earlier missed chances, when he made a fantastic run down the flank and shot home and then celebrated doing an acrobatic walking handstand. Jabloteh finishing the night 4-0 winners, and look unbeatable at this stage.
T&T Pro-League Results:
North East Stars 1 (Charles Pollard) v Starworld Strikers 0.
Joe Public 4 (Arnold Dwarika 2, Lyndon Andrews, Kerwyn Jemmott) v Superstar Rangers 0.
San Juan Jabloteh 4 (Keyeno Thomas, Peter Prosper, Anthony Wolfe, Jason Marcano) v Defence Force 0.
W Connection 3 (Ronaldo Viana, Earl Jean, Andre Pacheco) v Caledonia AIA 0.
United Petrotrin 1 (Anthony Rougier 51-pen) v Tobago United 1 (Garth Woodley 88).
