2024 First Citizens Cup Thread

[Tallman]

Defence Force kicks off First Citizens Cup defence in last-16.
T&T Guardian Reports.,

Reigning T&T Football Association (TTFA) Premier League champions, Defence Force will kick off the defence of their knockout title, the First Citizens Knockout Cup in the round-of-16 on April 27 against the winners of the first-round clash between Cunupia Eagles of Tier II, and Terminix La Horquetta Rangers.

This was determined during the draw that involved all 11 participating teams in the TTFA Tier I and 15 clubs in Tier II when the draw was conducted by Amiel Mohammed, general secretray of the TTFA and Devorn Jorsling, a former national and Defence Force striker, and current head coach of Tier II club Harlem Strikers at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, Tuesday.

In his address, Mohammed said he was pleased to welcome First Citizens back into the top levels of local football as a major sponsor to the sum of $200,000 with $150,000 going towards the prize money for the finalists of the competition.

For the draw, the top three teams on the standings in both the Tier I and Tier II Divisions as of Monday, April 8, 2024, were given byes into the round-of-16 with Miscellaneous Police FC, AC Port-of-Spain, and Defence Force the beneficiaries in Tier I, and the trio of Guaya United, MIC Maura ReUnited and Harlem Strikers, from Tier II.

Among the mouth-watering round-of-32 match-ups set for April 20 are a meeting between Tier II rivals, Defence Force and Police FC, Caledonia AIA (Tier I) against Tier II’s Queen’s Park Cricket Club, and the University of T&T Patriots versus Prison Service FC.

Last season, Defence Force completed the double in the T&TPFL when they won the Knockout Cup, after battling past Terminix La Horquetta Rangers in a hotly-contested final 5-3 at the Diego Martin Sports Complex, Diego Martin. The quarterfinals are carded for May 4 and 5 while the dates for the semifinals and final are yet to be finalised.

First Citizens Knockout Cup

April 20 - Round-of-32

#1 - Defence Force FC (Tier II) vs Police FC (Tier II)

#2 - Cunupia Eagles (Tier II) vs La Horquetta Rangers

#3 - Caledonia AIA vs QPCC FC

#4 - Cunupia Eagles (Tier I) vs 1976 FC Phoenix

#5 - Club Sando (Tier II) vs Central FC

#6 - UTT Patriots vs Prison Service FC
#7 - San Fernando Giants vs Bethel FC

#8 - Point Fortin Civic vs Central Soccer World

#9 - Petit Valley/Diego Martin Utd vs Misc. Laventille Utd

#10 - Club Sando (Tier I) vs RSSR FC

Round-of-16 - April 27

Defence Force (Tier I) vs Cunupia Eagles (Tier II)/La Horquetta Rangers winner

Club Sando (Tier I)/RSSR FC winner vs Police FC (Tier 1)

San Fernando Giants/Bethel FC winner vs Harlem Strikers

Cunupia Eagles (Tier I)/1976 FC Phoenix winner vs Caledonia AIA/QPCC FC winner

AC Port-of-Spain vs Defence Force FC (Tier II)/Police FC (Tier II) winner

Guaya United vs Matura ReUnited

Point Fortin Civic/Central Soccer World winner vs UTT Patriots/Prison Service FC winner

Quarterfinals: May 4 and 5

Semifinals and Final: Dates to be determined

[Tallman]

QPCC kayo ‘Cali’, Eagles boot out Phoenix in Tier One clash
By Ian Prescott (T&T Express)

CUNUPIA EAGLES was among four Trinidad and Tobago Premier Football League (TTPFL) Tier One clubs advancing from the opening round of the $150,000 First Citizens Knockout Cup, but Neal & Massy Morvant Caledonia was not among them.

“Cali” were knocked out when going down 2-0 to Tier Two Queen’s Park. Jesus de Lecia (38’) giving the Parkites a first-half lead, before a 78th minute Rondell Paul own-goal confirmed the upset.

FC Phoenix was the other Tier One team knocked out on opening day, going down 3-1 to Cunupia Eagles in the only round of 32 match played between the top flight clubs.

Played at Arima Velodrome, the match could have gone either way. Joshua Alexander handed Eagles a 1-0 first-half lead, in the 14th minute. Haitian Pierre-Louise Peterson headed in Keron Cornwall’s corner-kick for 2-0 in the 75th minute, only for Phoenix to score from a corner as well, Kerry McDonald (82’) glancing the ball past goalkeeper Miles Goodman for 2-1.

Mickaeel Jem Gordon and Lejandro Williams looked dangerous for the Tobago visitors on the counter-attack, but Phoenix shot themselves in the leg when Andel Brown’s short back-pass allowed Azahrias Ali to intercept, brilliantly slip past goalkeeper Duvaughn Daniel and score into an open net, for 3-1 five minutes into added-on time.

At Mahaica Oval, Heritage Petroleum Point Fortin Civic posted a 4-0 win over Tier Two Central Soccer World, with Marcus Joseph and Ezekiel Kesar each scoring a brace.

Meanwhile, Terminix La Horquetta Rangers dismantled Eagles (Tier 11) reserves 6-1, with Isaiah Lee bagging a double, as the home team scored the first five goals at the La Horquetta Recreation Ground. And having lost 17 Tier One matches this season, Central FC were far too strong for Club Sando’s reserves, winning 6-0, with Saleem Henry notching a hat-trick.

FIRST CITIZENS CUP KO

Round-of-32

(Saturday)

Cunupia Eagles 3 (Joshua Alexander 14’, Pierre Louis Peterson 75’, Azahrias Ali 90+5’) vs 1976 FC Phoenix 1 (Kerry McDonald 82’)

QPCC FC 2 (Jesus de Lecia 38’, Rondell Paul 78’-own goal) vs Morvant Caledonia United 0

Central FC 6 (Saleem Henry 20’, 22’ & 33’, Dominic Douglas 11’, Ronaldo Boyce 66’, Anton San Savior 6’ og) vs Club Sando (Tier II) 0

Terminix La Horquetta Rangers 6 (Isaiah Lee 29’ & 53’, Tariq Lee 3’, Leon Whyle 13 og, Leonardo Da Costa 20’, Ross Russell Jr 84’) vs Cunupia Eagles (Tier II) 1 (Chad Awong 87’)

Point Fortin Civic 4 (Ezekiel Kesar 9’& 28’. Marcus Joseph 20’& 34’) vs Central Soccer World 0

[Tallman]

Club Sando thump RSSR in First Citizens Cup
By Jelani Beckles (T&T Newsday)

CLUB Sando put six goals past RSSR when preliminary matches kicked off in the First Citizens Knockout Cup over the weekend.

On April 21 at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella, a brace by Shackiel Henry helped Club Sando win 6-0.

Henry opened the scoring for the tier one team in the 33rd minute, before Maurice Dick got his name on the scoresheet in the 44th minute. It went from bad to worse for RSSR as Jabari Forbes found the back of the net in first-half stoppage time.

The goals continued to flow in the second half as Henry scored again in the 58th minute. Jaron Pascall (61st) and Rhondel Gibson (89th) rounded off the scoring for Club Sando in the easy win.

In the second match of the double-header at Manny Ramjohn Stadium, San Fernando Giants whipped Bethel United FC 4-0 in a battle of tier two teams. It was goalless at half-time, before a ruthless second-half performance gave Giants the crushing win.

Andrei Pacheco opening the scoring in the 56th minute and seven minutes later, Abayomi George made it 2-0. Khurlan Khan (82nd) and Jeadon Parris (90th) both found the net in the final ten minutes as Bethel were eliminated.

Also, Prisons defeated UTT Patriots 2-1 in second-half stoppage time at UTT O'meara. Brendon Figuera put Prison in front in the 54th, but Keshaun Charles restored parity in the 81st. However, Aaron Enill fired in the winner from the penalty spot in the 92nd.

On April 20, there were also high-scoring matches. Heritage Petroleum Pt Fortin Civic were comfortable 4-0 winners over tier two's Central Soccer World at Mahaica Oval in Pt Fortin. Ezekiel Kesar (9th, 28th) and Marcus Joseph (20th, 34th) bagged two goals apiece.

In other matches, Terminix La Horquetta Rangers of tier one defeated tier two's Eagles FC II 6-1; tier two team QPCC upset tier one's Caledonia 2-0; Central FC of tier one romped to a 6-0 victory over tier two's Club Sando II; and Eagles FC got past 1976 FC Phoenix 3-1 in a battle of tier one teams.

[Tallman]

Police II, Laventille Utd advance in FCB knockout cup
By Roneil Walcott (T&T Newsday)

THE preliminary round of the 2024 First Citizens Cup came to an exciting end on Sunday night, with Police FC’s TT Premier Football League (TTPFL) tier two outfit and Miscellaneous Laventille Utd both booking their places in the round of 16.

In the second game of a double-header at the University of TT (UTT) O’Meara campus, Police battled in a servicemen derby against Defence Force’s tier two team.

Police opened the scoring in the 26th minute when Joshua Leach found the back of the net. The lawmen went into the halftime break with a 1-0 lead, and they doubled their lead in the 70th minute when Clevon McFee converted a penalty to make it 2-0.

Defence Force made the dying moments uncomfortable for their Police counterparts, as Kevon Blackman scored in the first minute of second-half stoppage-time to cut the deficit to 2-1.

However, Police held on to get the crucial win to advance to the last 16.

Police’s tier one team, the current leaders in the TTPFL top flight, was one of six clubs to receive a bye through to the last 16.

At Frederick Settlement, Caroni, TTPFL tier two strugglers Laventille Utd pulled off one of the upsets of the preliminary round when they got a 3-1 victory over the fifth-placed tier two team Petit Valley/Diego Martin United (PVDMU). The PVDMU outfit finished as TTPFL tier two playoff finalists last season, but their 2024 knockout cup run was stopped by a determined Laventille Utd team.

The encounter got off to a quite stunning start as three goals were scored in the opening ten minutes, with Laventille Utd jumping out to a 2-1 lead. Qualanson Archibald and Kersheem Alexander scored within a minute of each other to give Laventille Utd an early 2-0 lead before striker Akeil Thomas scored in the ninth minute for PVDMU to cut the deficit to 2-1. Laventille Utd held their slender lead for most of the encounter, and they wrapped up the victory in the 86th minute when Kester Hewitt netted the all-important third goal to send them through to the next round.

In two of the notable results in the preliminary round, tier two team QPCC stunned tier one outfit Caledonia by a 2-0 margin, while Eagles FC got a 3-1 win over 1976 FC Phoenix in the lone all-tier one duel in the first round.

First Citizens Knockout Cup preliminary round results:

Eagles FC 3, 1976 FC Phoenix 1

Club Sando (tier two) 0, Central FC 6

Caledonia 0, QPCC 2

Eagles FC (tier two) 1, Terminix La Horquetta Rangers 6

Heritage Petroleum Point Fortin Civic 4, Central Soccer World 0

Tiger Tanks Club Sando 6, RSSR 0

San F'do Giants 4, Bethel United 0

UTT Patriots 1, Prisons FC 2

PVDMU 1, Miscellaneous Laventille Utd 3

Defence Force (tier two) 1, Police FC (tier two) 2