Overwhelmed Rangers collapse in Cup final.
By: Lasana Liburd (Express).[/size]
The Toyota Classic Cup Final was an unforgettable one for Superstar Rangers coach Anthony Streete but not in the way he might have hoped. If ever there was a case of adding injury to insult, it was last Friday night at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella.
Rangers were trying to cope with the anguish of conceding a third goal to United Petrotrin before the half-time break when Streete's pain became very real. A flying bottle hit the coach square in his back and he needed as much treatment as his team's backline during the interval.
Rangers manager Alan Cabral explained, after the match, a female supporter was making a point to her colleagues when she claimed that the object slipped from her grasp and ended up knocking over Streete. She apologised and Rangers accepted that it was an accident.
Still, the incident raised inevitable concerns about the security at the match and Pro League CEO Dexter Skeene vowed to conduct an enquiry.
The Rangers fan should be thankful to get off so easily. Local administrators tried to ban Starworld Strikers goalkeeper Marvin Phillip into oblivion, a few years ago, for surprising prominent Trinidad and Tobago referee Ramesh Ramdhan with some misguided spittle.
Coaches, apparently, are not guaranteed the same protection. And, if ever a coach was left dangerously exposed to the elements, it was Streete.
If the supporter's assault was a freakish accident, how can one explain losing by a four-goal margin to one of Trinidad and Tobago's least effective attacking teams? Furthermore, how does a player (Sylvester Teesdale) score a hattrick in a Cup final and watch his goalkeeper (Tristan Charles) collect the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award?
Petrotrin manager Brian Williams' post-game assertion that he was more concerned with the Rangers' attack duo of Errol McFarlane jnr and Kerwyn "Hardest" Jemmott than confident in his own attackers summed up a final which surprised many even before kick-off.
The 2006 Toyota Classic marked the first occasion in five years that neither Vibe CT 105 W Connection nor CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh had advanced to the final of a major local Cup tournament.
"It augers well for the Pro League in that we have no certain winners again," said Skeene. "So spectators are guaranteed close, competitive games which also raises the standard of the games (as players must work harder for results)."
It also meant a rare night out for both teams in the full glare of the local media and Trinidad and Tobago head coach Wim Rijsbergen.
Rangers may have hoped that McFarlane and Jemmott-both former nationals-would rise to the occasion. Williams had other plans.
"Jemmott is a technically sound player who, given time, can deliver," said the Petrotrin coach. "I told my players to close mark him and deny him the ball because, if he fed McFarlane, we could be in trouble.
"We also tried to stop Errol from getting behind our defence and double teamed him from front and behind whenever we could."
But Petrotrin still had to win the match and only bottom placed Tobago United scored less than the southern oilmen's 22 League goals from 26 Pro League outings this year.
"We lack the quality of strikers we would like," said Williams, a former "Strike Squad" right back. "Our goal scoring is one of the areas we need to work on a lot."
Sylvester Teesdale, who scored three times, and his accomplice Beville Joseph may beg to differ but it is not often that they will come across such a charitable defence.
Joseph put Petrotrin ahead in the 13th minute after capitalising on a fluffed headed clearance by Rangers left back Corneal Thomas while Teesdale twice rose unmarked to nod home from Keon Daniel set pieces.
Teesdale's other goal came after Rangers stopper Don Morris attempted a scooped pass out of the back without the security of defensive cover.
"We knew that Rangers tend to start a little slow," said Williams.
By the time the St Ann's-based outfit moved up a gear, the contest was effectively over. But it made for an exciting match regardless and only a corpse could not sympathise with their offensive efforts.
Whatever Jemmott or McFarlane conjured up, though, Petrotrin goalkeeper Tristan Charles seemed up to the task on the night. Charles' best moment came in the 44th minute as Petrotrin defended a two-goal lead.
Jemmott was warming up by then.
Arguably the country's best passer in the attacking third of the field, Jemmott linked up with McFarlane and sidestepped one defender before smashing a right-footed effort towards the top left hand corner. Charles maintained his employers' lead with his fingertips.
Two minutes later, Petrotrin extended their advantage. Morris, in a vain effort to find Jemmott, tried to scoop the ball over an opposing striker near the halfline and gifted possession to Petrotrin.
Jerrol Forbes picked out Teesdale on the counter-attack and the latter striker gleefully rolled into an empty net.
One Rangers spectator then inadvertently and painfully caught Streete's attention but the damage had been done to the club's title hopes. Fortunately for club and coach, the harm done to their commendable debut Pro League season was merely superficial.
"It was a disappointing final," said Cabral, "but we have had a better than expected season. At the start of the year, our ambition was to avoid finishing last but we've done much better than that.
"We had no pre-season and only signed a coach two weeks before our first game. In the first round, we were badly beaten by the bigger teams but we showed a lot of improvement since then."
Cabral suggested that Superstar Rangers might be more polished next year too while they will aim for a top three finish in the Big Six competition. Incidentally, Rangers beat Petrotrin-the 2005 Big Six champions-for the final spot up for grabs in the Pro League.
"We will reflect and regroup and hopefully get back to what we have been doing well," said the Rangers manager. "We were not able to acquire any top quality players this season apart from possibly 'Hardest' and are short of depth. But hopefully we can do some shopping next season."
Petrotrin managed two Cups in successive seasons despite slipping one spot in the league table. But there is little chance of complacency once skipper Anthony Rougier is around.
A former national captain, Rougier played for close to a decade in the British professional leagues while he also had a stint in China. On Friday, the utility player proved that he still had much to offer on the field with a typically composed performance in central defence.
Williams credited Rougier with lifting the level of professionalism within the squad and the player revealed that he takes his role quite seriously.
"There was just one national under-20 player on our squad when I came," said Rougier. "If we can have two or three by the time I am ready to leave, it will be personally satisfying.
"I think the potential of this squad is huge and the proof is in two Cups from two seasons. We have just got to keep setting high standards for ourselves.
"There are a lot of inexperienced players and even technical staff members here and everyone need to open themselves up to learning."
For Williams, the Classic Cup coup helped ease a frustrating start to his tenure as Trinidad and Tobago under-20 coach. In 2005, he was Pro League's Coach of the Year but he struggled to lead his country to a Play Off spot last month after alleged administrative short-sightedness by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) executive committee rendered the squad ill-prepared.
Williams was happy to focus on the domestic game-if only for a moment.
"What took place in the final was that we capitalised on our chances," said Williams. "And to score four goals after our failures up-front this year made the victory even sweeter. But it was a good final and not as one-sided as the score might show."
Streete's men played their part but they must surely work harder to protect the coach's on-field reputation in the future. It is the Pro League's job to protect him from his own fans during game time.
