Jabloteh cruise despite Fenwick dismissal.
By: Lasana Liburd (Express).
Clico San Juan Jabloteh stayed on course for a second major trophy this season with a 7-0 rout of Central Football Association (CFA) club, Harlem Strikers, in the TTFF FA Trophy first round on Wednesday night at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva.
Harlem were not short on effort and kept the 2008 and 2007 T&T Pro League champions at bay until the 34th minute when an effort by Jabloteh captain Trent Noel squirmed under the opposing goalkeeper and went in off the inside of the post.
Goals flowed freely thereafter and Jabloteh were four goals ahead at the interval.
But, as they cruised on the field, Jabloteh coach Terry Fenwick was ejected for being too liberal with his views to referee Phillip Jordan early in the second half.
It was also, by all accounts, the Englishman's first expulsion this season although he has had similar problems with officials in the past.
Yet surely the circumstances of Wednesday's FA Trophy fixture suggest that Fenwick is troubled by something more complex than a potty mouth.
Theoretically, Jordan might have been too quick in dishing out the ultimate punishment. But, even if that were the case, most coaches would not have reacted with such a score summary in their favour.
Fenwick, a former England World Cup defender, is clearly not your average Pro League coach-not mentally, at least. Because if his verbal tirade was not an effort to distract from Jabloteh's failings, as they were winning handsomely, or not merely testimony to his loose lips, as he was not ejected in any other match this year, then something deeper could be amiss.
In the aftermath of Jabloteh's draw with W. Connection last weekend, which secured their second successive League title, both coaches moaned about the packed fixture list and made interesting disclosures.
Connection coach Stuart Charles-Fevrier, a very successful football man in his own right, opted to cease all training sessions in the build-up for the decisive match in order to keep his players as fresh as possible.
Fenwick, on the other hand, cranked up his sessions to twice daily to stop his players from self-pity. His message to his troops, spoken or not, was on the relationship between hard work and success. Winners do not need excuses.
A single minded and driven figure, who refuses to accept excuses from within his camp, may also struggle to accept shortcomings from the outside on a point of principle and especially when it impacts on your own job.
Perhaps there are similarities with the motorist who rants when a driver swerves in front of him as well as if the driver proceeds too slowly in the fast lane or exploits the shoulder for an advantage. The first misdemeanor is dangerous to the motorist yet the other two seem just as offensive as the motorist sees them as an affront to the accepted standard and a personal slight-as though the bad driver was somehow taunting him.
And so Fenwick, the country's most successful domestic coach this season, succumbed to football's version of road rage on Wednesday and, possibly, let slip part of the mentality behind Jabloteh's success.
Almost certainly, his lapse revealed more about Jabloteh than Harlem Strikers could.
Noel apart, Ataullah Guerra surprised Harlem custodian Ita Charles with a fierce low effort from outside the area, while Lester Peltier scored twice from improbable angles after cutting in from the left flank and striker Beville Joseph as well as his replacement and former Petrotrin teammate, Jerol Forbes, penalised poor defending. Lively winger Jason Marcano closed the score summary with a late lobbed effort.
Fenwick saw the last three goals from the stands after his latest indiscretion. But clearly there is more to his leadership and Jabloteh's success than an inability to hold his tongue.
FA Trophy results:
Roxborough Lakers 1 (Akesfa Alexander 35), T&TEC 1 (Angus John 67)
*-T&TEC won 4-3 on penalties
Defence Force (PFL) 6 (Jerwin Balthazar 20, 63, Chris Durity 29, Devon Jorsling 35, Kevon Carter 44, Christian Baptiste 85), T&T Coast Guard/Air Guard 0
Joe Public (PFL) 3 (Chad de Freitas 8, Gregory Richardson 18, Kerry Baptiste 68), Atomic Youth Movement 1 (Damian de Verteuil 70)
St Ann's Rangers (PFL) 5 (Keyon Edwards [2], Shem McFarlane, Devon Modeste, Corneal Thomas), Hills United 0
W. Connection 5 (Teba McKnight 6, Ishmael Daniel 17, Kerron Smith 23, Ronaldo Viana 60, Hughton Hector 77), A to Z United 1 (Bobby Sookraj 82 pen)
Charlotteville Unifiers beat National U-20s by default after U-20's withdrew from competition
Harvard 2 (Glen Walker 20, Criston Freitas 65), Biche United 0
Malick Togetherness 2 (Kent Graham 47; Marcus Chin 83), Valencia United 1 (Neil Simpson 26)
North East Stars 1 (Sean Cooper 44), United Petrotrin 0
WASA 2 (Vernon Bailey 65 pen, Alvin Faure 75), Defence Force 1
