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Goalscorer
Roen Nelson (4) holds a bottle of champagne in his hand
and the T&T Football Federation FA Trophy as he and
his bmobile Joe Public clubmates celebrate their 1-0 win
over Neal & Massy Caledonia AIA in the final at the
Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya on Wednesday night. Photos: Anthony
Harris
Joe
Public earned a hard fought 1-0 win over T&T Pro League
rivals Neal & Massy Caledonia AIA to capture the T&T
Football Federation FA Trophy title at the Marvin Lee Stadium,
Macoya on Wednesday night.
Jamaican striker Roen Nelson proved yet again to be a man
for the big occasion as he scored the only goal of the match.
The victory marked the second in six years for ‘Lion’
, following its 2001 triumph under the captaincy of its
current coach Michael Mc Comie.
Nelson who got the decisive last gasp goal for his team
in a 2-1 Toyota Classic Cup final win over CL Financial
San Juan Jabloteh, and also netted a stoppage time FA semifinal
winner for his team in a 2-1 beating of United Petrotrin,
headed past AIA goalkeeper Andrew Durant in the 20th minute
which proved to be the eventual match winner.
Before an appreciative crowd of close to 500 spectators
on a cold and blustery night, the match got off to a frantic
pace with the ‘Eastern Lions’ of Joe Public putting
the ‘Stallions’ on the back-foot with Kerry Noray
forcing Durant into an early save after a failed headed
clearance from Dexter Franklyn.
Soon after Kerry Baptiste created more anxiety in the ‘Stallions’
defence when he headed onto the cross-bar as he team looked
for the early advantage while he also blasted high and wide
from just inside the right side of the 18-yard-box in the
17th minute and .
Three minutes later, the burly Nelson struck for the ‘Eastern
Lions’ when he was first to meet a whipped in Kendall
Jagdeosingh corner and glanced his header into the bottom
left hand corner of the goal.
For its triumph, the ‘Eastern Lions’ collected
the prestigious FA trophy, $60,000 top prize, an increase
from last season’s $40,000 and 25 gold medals while
Caledonia had to settle for the runner-up prize of $25,000.
Final
(December 14)
Joe Public 1 (Roen Nelson 20th) vs Caledonia AIA 0
Semifinals
(Dec 6)
Joe Public 2 vs United Petrotrin 1
San Juan Jabloteh 0 vs Caledonia AIA 1
Quarterfinals (Nov 27)
North East Stars 1 vs Joe Public 2
T&T Coast/Air Guard 0 vs Caledonia AIA 4
San Juan Jabloteh 1 vs W Connection 0
Defence Force (SL) 0 vs 2 United Petrotrin 2
Teams:
Joe Public: Jacomeno Barrett (goalkeeper), Kerry Noray,
Dale Saunders (captain), Lyndon Andrews (Terrance Mc Allister
75th), Roen Nelson, Carlos Gonzalves (Gregory Richardson
54th), Kerry Baptiste, Devon Leacock (Jason Springer 87th),
Kendall Jagdeosingh, Seon Power, Keyeno Thomas.
Subs not used: Sean Cooper, Kendall Davis, Silas Spann.
Caledonia AIA: Andrew Durant (goalkeeper), Howard Lowe,
Dexter Franklyn (Anthony Abrams 75th), Sheldon Emmanuel
(Radanfah Abu Bakr 81st), Stephan David, Conrad Smith, Marvin
Oliver, Abdullah Phillip (Dwight Peters 64th), Charles Pollard,
Walter Moore, Hayden Tinto
Subs not used: Marcus Ambrose, Michael Woods (goalkeeper),
Carlyle Mitchell, Jacobs Dwayne.
Seon
Power, right, of bmobile Joe Public makes a timely lunging
tackle to stop the speedy Hayden Tinto of Neal & Massy
Caledonia AIA in the T&T Football Federation FA Trophy
Final at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya on Wednesday night.
Joe Public won 1-0.
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