THE title race in the 2023/24 Trinidad and Tobago Premier Football League (TTPFL) season continues to heat up, and Miscellaneous Police FC (27 points) regained second spot in the standings on Sunday when they got a slender 1-0 win against Prisons FC at the Arima Velodrome.
With the win, the lawmen moved ahead of the third-placed Defence Force (26 points) on the table and moved to within two points of leaders AC PoS (29 points) who were inactive on the weekend.
Though they created clear-cut chances in the second half and tested Prisons goalkeeper Aaron Enill and his backline, Police’s goal came via an own goal by defender Seon Thomas in the 61st minute. Police playmaker Joevin Jones found space on the right side and delivered a peach of a cross into the area as he searched for striker Anthony Wolfe, but it was Thomas’ inadvertent touch that took the ball past Enill and into the back of the net to give Police the advantage.
Just before Police’s game-clinching goal, Enill was called into action in the 56th minute when he made a pair of point-blank saves to deny winger Kwesi Allen at the back post after the Prisons defenders failed to deal with a backward header by left back Kemuel Rivers. Police only held a one-goal lead in the game, but they assumed a firm grip of the contest with superior possession and rarely looked troubled by the Prisons outfit at the other end. Prisons struggled for fluidity on the hard, dry surface and relied mainly on set pieces to try and break Police down.
In the 74th minute, Police nearly doubled their lead after Enill rushed off his line to thwart a right-side attack. With Enill absent from the goal frame, a Prisons defender made a brilliant block on the goal-line to deny a fierce drive from outside the 18-yard box by Police playmaker Jabari Mitchell. In stoppage time, Police custodian Adrian Foncette ensured all three points were locked up when he made an acrobatic fingertip save to keep out a long-range effort by substitute Sean Bonval which seemed destined for the top corner.
In Sunday’s other late TTPFL match, Heritage Petroleum Point Fortin Civic and Eagles FC (formerly Cunupia FC) played to a goalless draw at Mahaica Sporting Complex, Point Fortin.
Despite the defeat to Police, Prisons (18 points) stayed in sixth spot on the 11-team table. Point Fortin (17 points) and Eagles (13 points) are seventh and tenth respectively.
TTFPL tier one standings:
Team*GP*W*D*L*GF*GA*GD*Pts
1.AC PoS*12*9*2*1*34*12*22*29
2.Police FC*13*8*3*2*28*11*17*27
3.Defence Force FC*13*8*2*3*24*12*12*26
4.La Horquetta Rangers*14*7*2*5*27*20*7*23
5 Club Sando*13*6*3*4*19*15*4*21
6.Prisons FC*14*6*0*8*20*30*-10*18
7.Point Fortin Civic*13*4*5*4*18*12*6*17
8.1976 FC Phoenix*12*5*1*6*18*22*-4*16
9.Caledonia*13*3*4*6*18*20*-2*13
10.Eagles FC*13*3*4*6*15*18*-3*13
11.Central FC*14*0*0*14*6*55*-49*0.
13