Champions WASA look to Pro League.
By: Ian Prescott (Express).[/size]
"What is important now is how we approach the opportunity to go into the Pro League. I think we have the players to take us there and to perform credibly. In terms of administration, I am not sure that we have what is required yet for Pro League football. But, all that can change with the stroke of a pen."
Ken Elie, head-coach of the WASA football team, was giving a frank assessment of his team's ambition to play in the 2008 T&T Pro League after they won the semi-pro bmobile National Super League title on Wednesday. A 1-1 draw with Harlem Strikers was enough to earn the "Water Boys" the right to enter the professional league next season.
Going into Wednesday's match against Harlem Strikers, at Frederick Settlement, WASA needed a point to secure the title from second-placed Defence Force. Harlem had been the only team to beat WASA in a year, when despatching them in the Super League knockout semis. And before the match, WASA were mindful of being in pole position to win the league last year, but then losing their final two matches and finishing fourth.
WASA must have thought it was deja vu when Brent Antoine evading defender Dexter Alleyne and hit a low drive past keeper Douglas McNeilly to put Harlem Strikers ahead in the 44th minute. WASA dominated the game, but looked toothless up front, and when a defender failed to clear a high ball, Antoine swooped and hit a low shot, putting the home team ahead against the run of play.
Harlem, the 2007 Super League knockout champs, were looking for a place in the Big 4 tournament, and defended the lead doggedly. So much so that coach Ansil Elcock brought himself on as a substitute late in the game. A couple times, Elcock used his experience, forcing Stevon Stoute to the goal-line and then putting in a saving tackle. The second half started at 5.18 p.m., quite late for a ground with no lights, and a full quarter-hour before the end, home fans were calling for the match to be blown off, accusing the ref of "taking money".
The light was fading fast, and at 6.03 most houses in Frederick Settlement were illuminated. It was then, in the 90th minute and the very last of regulation time, that Stoute picked up the ball at the top of the penalty area and beat keeper Anthony County with a low shot into the back of the Harlem net. The goal sent the WASA players celebrating-their unbeaten run and the league title had been saved. The reality, though, is that they would have won the league either way, since Defence Force were upset 1-0 by Caroni thanks to Jesse Downing's 84th minute goal.
Coach Elie was quick to point out that a team effort led to the Super League title. He had special thanks for his lieutenants, assistant-coach Vaughn Alexander and manager Jerry Allen, who took charge of the team for much of the second round while he was otherwise occupied with work and other duties. He also credited the role of captain and keeper Douglas McNeilly and an early January start for their victory.
"First of all, I would like to congratulate the entire team and the WASA family on the victory. What is most significant is that we have not only won the league, but we played unbeaten. In just under a year, WASA have done two of the toughest things, winning the FA trophy title and now the National Super League," said the proud coach. WASA will now collect the trophy and the $105,000 jackpot while second placed Defence Force will collect $63,000 and Joe Public, third gets $32,000. The top four teams at the end of the league will also qualify for a Big-Four competition which carries a first prize of $15,000 and $5,000 for second spot. The third and fourth placed teams will get $2,500 each.
Meanwhile, a pair of rescheduled matches will be staged on Sunday, with the Army-Coast Guard combination meeting neighbours ALCOA Carenage United at Chaguaramas while the struggling pair of Crab Connection and Caroni will square off at the San Juan Secondary Comprehensive Ground.
ResultsHarlem Strikers 1 (Brent Antoine 44th) v WASA F.C. 1 (Stevon Stoute 90th)
Caroni 1 (Jesse Downing 84th) v Defence Force 0
StandingsP W D L F A Pts[/b]
WASA 18 10 8 0 38 14 38
Defence Force 17 10 1 6 26 18 31
Joe Public 17 8 6 3 28 24 30
Harvard 18 8 4 6 30 25 28
Harlem 17 7 5 5 25 19 26
1976 Phoenix FC 17 5 3 9 25 30 18
Carenage 15 4 4 7 13 21 16
Caroni 17 3 6 8 19 32 15
Crab Connection 16 3 5 8 19 33 14
House of Dread 16 3 4 9 17 24 13
Marksman: WASA Football Club striker Stevon Stoute, right, is harassed by Joe Public's Shevhons Abrahams in a National Super League match, on Sunday. Stoute scored for WASA on Wednesday in his team's 1-1 draw with Harlem Strikers.
