Caledonia beat Joe Public, Spann saves Connection.
By: Ian Prescott (Express).[/size]
Marvin Oliver had the distinction of being the first player to score on the new $8m artificial surface at the Marvin Lee Stadium yesterday when his 90th minute goal gave Neal & Massy Caledonia AIA a 1-0 victory over their hosts b-mobile Joe Public in the T&T Pro League.
Caledonia played with a man short from the 43rd minute when Guyanese midfielder Shawn Bishop was sent off by referee Lee Davis after picking up a second yellow card. But their defence never looked likely to crack against Joe Public and after a meandering run by Devon Millington, the ball was slipped wide on the left flank to Oliver, who scored the winner by hitting a low shot past keeper Alejandro Figueroa and into the Public goal.
With the victory, Caledonia drew level with defending champions Joe Public at the top of the Pro League table. Both teams have ten points after three victories, a draw and a single loss this season.
It's a pity that yesterday's clash only picked up in the final quarter-hour because the pitch they played on was in absolutely immaculate condition.
As expected, there was a good turn-out, but for long periods the football was not as smooth as the surface it was played on and neither team showed the ambition to win until the dying stages. However, Nigel Codrington, the Guyanese striker, did test Joe Public's Colombian keeper with a low, scorching shot near the end of the first half.
Joe Public had a few moments as well early in the second half when Arnold Dwarika met a corner-kick with a downward header which AIA's Stephan David cleared as it was about to go into the goal. And Joe Public striker Gary Glasgow lined up a shot on goal from close in, but was stopped by a crisp tackle from stopper Charles Pollard, the recently-retired Guyana national team captain.
Caledonia played tight defence once they lost Bishop and rasta-haired Oliver came in for several heavy tackles when they went forward, including a vicious slide which earned Dwarika a yellow card. But, the one time Oliver was given some space, he was able to ghost up the left flank onto a through ball, take one step to goal, and put the ball past keeper Figueroa to send the Caledonia fans into a frenzy.
In another Pro League games yesterday, it took a Silvio Spann goal deep into time-added-on at the Hasely Crawford Stadium for Vibe CT105 W Connection to rescue a 2-2 draw with Superstar Rangers, who are turning out to be the surprise of the season.
At the end, Rangers were visibly upset by the four minutes referee Ishmael Mahabir added on. After a goalless first half, Andre Toussaint gave the South team a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute. But striker Errol McFarlane quickly turned things around with two goals (73rd & 81st) to take his season's tally to eight in five matches. At 2-1 Rangers looked certain to get three points, until Spann's late strike. Newcomers Police FC earned a hard fought 2-0 victory over winless Tobago United. A game in which the Police team gave up home advantage because of the inability of the Tobago team to get flights out to Tobago, because of the heavy after Jazz Festival traffic out of the island. South team United Petrotrin ease pass North East Stars 2-0 and San Juan Jabloteh slip through a determined 'Army' outfit 1-0.
Joe Public: - Alejandro Figueroa, Anthony Noreiga, Carey Harris, Dale Saunders (capt), Kayode McKinnon, Abassi McPherson, Kerry Baptiste (Sean Copper), Seon Power, Gregory Richardson (Dexter Thornhill), Arnold Dwarika, Gary Glasgow.
Caledonia AIA: - Richard Reynolds, Leslie Holligan, Charles Pollard, Sheldon Emmanuel (capt), Walter Moore, Stephan David, Marvin Oliver, Shawn Bishop, Dwight Peters (Hayden Tinto), Nigel Codrington (Devon Millington), Kareem Joseph (Densill Theobald).
W Connection: - Jan-Michael Williams, Elijah Joseph, Clyde Leon, Nickcolson Thomas, Hughton Hector (Silvio Spann), Andrei Pacheco, Douglas DaCosta, Christian Viveros, Earl Jean (capt) (Shane Calderon), Andre Toussaint.
Superstar Rangers: - Jhony Ortiz, Leeben McGregor (Shem McFarlane), Dean Pacheco, Kerwyn Jemmott, Marc Borde, Todd Ryan, Milton Gomez, Christian Thomas (Devon Modeste), Marvin James (Michael Brown), Joseph Peters, Errol McFarlane.
Full Results
Joe Public 0 v Caledonia AIA 1 (Marvin Oliver 90)
Superstar Rangers 2 (Errol McFarlane 73, 84) v W Connection 2 (Andre Toussaint 50, Silvio Spann 90)
Defence Force 0 v San Juan Jabloteh 1 (Dwayne Jack 23)
United Petrotrin 2 (Romauld Aguillera 20, Jerol Forbes 34) v North East Stars 0
Police F.C 2 (Kenwin Matthew 11, Christopher Sam 57) v Tobago United 0
