Defence Force persevere, beat Jabloteh.

By Mark Pouchet.
30-Sept-2004 - The Defence Force showed the value of sticking to strategy as they gained two late goals and an unlikely 2-0 win yesterday in their Trinidad and Tobago Pro League game against defending champions CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh yesterday.
For 84 minutes, as much through wasteful Jabloteh forays and extremely resilient defending by the Army/Coast Guard combination, the Defence Force coached by former Strike Squad standout Kerry Jamerson, remained committed to their plan of stout defensive play and quick counter-attacks.
The Defence Force backmen, with former national player Anton Pierre marshalling the troops adeptly, got a testing workout ahead of their FCB Cup final against Vibe CT W Connection tomorrow at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium.
Eventually, after absorbing unrelenting pressure from a very attack-minded Jabloteh side, substitute forward Odelle Armstrong netted twice from breaks to knock the wind out of the Bourg Mulatresse team and earn three points for his side.
Earlier in the game, Jabloteh had established their dominance with their quick passing game and high pressure play.
The loose balls always seemed to zero in on a Jabloteh player like a laser-guided missile and the deft touches of Aurtis Whitley and Nigel "Croc" Pierre gave Pierre (Anton) and company a lot of work to do.
But they withstood the Jabloteh forays with timely clearances and interceptions, getting the ball to safety so that they could reorganise or finding outlets so they could launch speedy counter-attacks.
That tactic frustrated Jabloteh's goal attempts for the duration of the match.
After a goalless first half, D/Force goalkeeper Cleon John unnerved them more with two saves from Travis Mulraine and Josh Johnson.
And when Armstrong caught them out first with a looping header over Jabloteh keeper Daurance Williams from a Kurt Williams right side cross, and then with his own skill at the end of regulation time, getting around Ian Gray with a nice touch before shooting low past Williams (D), the strategy had paid off, Jabloteh however will not truly be affected by the results of this match as both teams have effectively qualified for the Big Six playoffs which will decide the league title. That competition is scheduled to begin on October 24.

San Juan Jabloteh:
Daurance Williams, Ronald Primus, Ian Gray, Travis Mulraine, Vernon Bailey (Cyd Gray 45th), Nigel Daniel (Josh Johnson 87th) Angus Eve (capt), Trent Noel, Kerry Baptiste, Aurtis Whitley (Kerry Noray), Nigel Pierre.

Defence Force:
Cleon John, Kelshall Alexander, Anton Joseph, Anton Pierre, Claude Adams, Kurt Williams (capt), Ronald St Louis, Kwesi Smith (Shelton Williams 77th), Christon Baptiste (Michael Edwards 64th), Jerwyn Balthazar, Devon Jorsling (Odelle Armstrong 62nd).

\Jabloteh held by Defence Force.

By Ian Prescott.
10-May-2004 - No one arrived late for yesterday's T&T Pro League match in which defending champions CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh and Defence Force played to a 1-1 draw at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Advertised to begin at 4 p.m. the match started an hour late to accommodate the Senior Games which started earlier at the same venue.
When referee Richard Piper finally got the action going, it took a full 10 minutes before Jabloteh's Aurtis Whitley (Otis Seaton) made the first threatening move by either team. But Seaton's initial foray seemed to spark Jabloteh into action and two minutes later, he netted (12th minute) to take his season's tally to six goals in four matches.
Kerry Baptiste produced a burst of acceleration in midfield and meandered his way through the Army defence before cracking a powerful shot which goalkeeper Selwyn George did well to fend away. However, the Defence Force custodian only parried the ball to Seaton, who absolutely abused the sphere when he volleyed it powerfully into the back of the net.
Before the goal, the 'Army' were having the better of the earlier exchanges and leisurely stroked the ball around. But once in front, Jabloteh became competitive.
Midfielder Kerwyn Jemmott just missed putting Jabloteh further ahead with a chip over keeper George in the 28th minute and moments later, Trent Noel skilfully eluded a lunging tackle, but hit overbar from close up. Noel should have scored, and he knew it.
Having relied heavily on a fortified back-line to keep them in the game, the Defence Force were rewarded for their resilience with a 43rd minute equaliser from midfielder Marvin Gordon, who ran down a through ball and slipped the ball past the Duarance Williams in the Jabloteh goal.
Jabloteh had the better of the second half, but again Jemmott missed a sitter when dragging a low shot wide and later, Stokely Mason also came close with two rasping shots.
While Jabloteh were failing to convert, Anton Joseph almost scored for Defence Force with a glancing header onto Christon Bapise's left-side cross in the 61st minute. The flick looked like a certain goal from the moment it left Joseph's head, until keeper Williams got a late touch to turn the ball away. The Jabloteh custodian also prevented Army substitute Ronald Boyce from stealing the match five minutes from the end, when he squeezed out a low shot at his near post.

'Army' tame Arima Morvant Fire.

By: Ian Prescott.
22-Apr-2004 - Odelle Armstrong made an impressive debut as the Defence Force opened their 2004 T&T Pro League season with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Arima-Morvant Fire yesterday at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
The striker, one of five new recruits in the Defence Force starting line-up, scored a brace (35th and 85th), while national under-23 forward Kevon Carter got the other in the 39th minute. Running out for the first time in the Defence Force colours were Rawle Fletcher (formerly W Connection), Addison Belfon (formerly W Connection), Anton Joseph (formerly W Connection) and Christon Bapiste.
The Army also acquired Caledonia AIA's Armstrong-a workman-like striker in the mould of Jason Scotland-and he began the destruction of his former team-mates by scoring the Defence Force's opening goal in the 35th minute.
Arima Morvant Fire, formed by the merger of Caledonia AIA and Arima Fire, had slightly the better of the first half hour but Fire found themselves behind when Armstrong headed the Army ahead. The goal resulted from a powerful run from Carter, who delivered a pin-point cross onto Armstrong's head.
Having struggled to get their attacks going earlier, the Defence Force were soon two goals ahead in the 39th minute when Carter used his blistering pace to outrun the Arima-Morvant Fire defence, before scooping the ball over Botswana keeper Kagiso Tshelametse.
Fire almost replied immediately from the re-start when lazy defending by Belfon allowed Arima Morvant Fire's Nathaniel Charles to find Alvis Favre, whose shot struck a Defence Force upright. Fire's Romauld Aguillera later headed wide after beating Army custodian Selwyn George to a bouncing ball and later, the striker hit over from inside the penalty area.
Even then, the Defence Force may have been flattered by the scoreline as they struggled to get going in the middle.
The unlucky Arima-Morvant Fire team laid siege to the Defence Force goal in the second half. But despite striking the crossbar from Ryan Stewart's powerful swerving drive, they fell further behind in the 85th when Armstrong collected a floated cross from Anton Pierre and pushed the ball past Tshelametse.

D/Force draw 2-2 vs Joe Public.

TnT Newsday Reports.
05-Dec-2003 - Defence Force were held to a 2-2 draw by “the Eastern Lions” Joe Public in their rescheduled 26th round fixture in the T&T Pro League at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar, Arima. Following Wednesday night’s match, the Army-Coast Guard combination remain fourth on the standings with 44 points from 28 matches while the Macoya-based club are seven points behind in sixth spot. CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh head the standings with 68 points, seven more than W Connection. Striker Christian Freitas put the Eastern Lions ahead in the 11th minute but quick goals by Corey Rivers, in the 55th, and Vincent Garcia three minutes later, put Defence Force in the ascendancy. But their lead will not last however, as ex-national Under-17 midfielder Ochieng Abosi found the mark in the 79th. And St Anthony’s College midfielder Clevon George registered a hat-trick, scoring in the 32nd, 42nd and 76th minutes, as the Army-Coast Guard combination prevailed 3-0 in their Under-20 matchup against the Lions.

Starworld outshine Defence Force.

By Ian Prescott.
20-Oct-2003 - The long trip from San Fernando was well worth it for Starworld Strikers as they were able to come away 4-2 victors over the Defence Force after an eventful T&T Pro League match at the Hasely Crawford stadium yesterday.
Going into game, the teams were balanced on 29 points with Starworld just holding fourth position in the standings by the slimmest of margins–goal-difference.
After an even first half, the teams were balanced 1-1. Ronald Boyce shot the Defence Force into the lead in the 16th minute, only for former SWIF striker Bevon Lewis to find a 23rd minute equaliser.
But that all changed during an 11 minute stretch in which a burst of Starworld energy produced three second half goals to turn the match their way. The shock of conceding three quick goals spurred Hutson Charles into action, and the Defence Force coach immediately made a triple change, bringing on substitute striker Shelton Williams, striker Kerwyn Coa and midfielder Marvin Gordon. Gone in the clear-out was Kevon Carter, who had been scoring freely for the soldiers this season. Yesterday, Carter found himself a marked man and did not like it a bit–frequently complaining to referee Robin Murray about the extra attention paid to him by Starworld marker and international team-mate Errol Charles.
Even after dropping into the deepest of holes, coach Huston Charles seemed to think that his bunch could overcome a 4-1 deficit. But the damage had already been done. It all started in the 50th minute when Marc Borde slid in Dale Saunders’ right flank cross. Eight minutes later, Nicholas Addlery met another right side cross–this time from midfielder Marlon Stoute–with a glancing header which eluded Army goalkeper Cleon John at the far post. And a further three minutes later, marksman Bevon Lewis got his second goal of the game when he outpaced the Defence Force back line and rolled the ball low past John.
It all happened so suddenly. One minute, Defence Force were applying pressure in the Starworld penalty area and then they were facig a quick counter-attack when a clearance put Lewis through the centre of the Army defence.
The entire second half must have flashed past equally as quickly for coach Charles. On minute, his soldiers were level and having the better of play and then they were beaten. His best option at that moment might have been to appeal for bad light, and had it been a game of cricket, referee Murray might well have obliged. As rapidly fading light rendered the stadium darker and darker, ref Murray met with match commissioner Boris Punch to consider the situation and after a fairly long delay, the final eight minutes were played under floodlights.
“Mr Optimism”, Charles, never gave up and was seen constantly waving on his forces to attack with full force. In the minutes after the lights were switched on, substitute Williams’ shot crashed off the Starworld crossbar. Williams then hit a penalty-kick wide, after Coa was bundled over in the area. Fuelled by good play from midfielders Gordon and Kwesi Smith, the “Army” abandoned defence and eventually pulled a goal back through striker Vincent “Slappa” Garcia from a goal-mouth scramble.
Corey Rivers also had Starworld keeper Jefferson George scrambling to cover a hard, low free-kick. But by then, the effort was too little, too late.

Army beats Tobago United 4-0 in First Citizen Cup.

TnT Guardian Repoets.
12-Jun-2003 - Defence Force, having a lean season so far in the Trinidad and Tobago Professional Football League, remained in line to make a successful defence of the First Citizens Bank Cup by defeating Tobago United 4-0 in a qualifier at Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet, Tobago, yesterday.
With just two wins from five outings in the league, the Army will now meet last year’s beaten finalist Vibe CT 105 W Connection in one of the four first round matches next Wednesday.
Over in Tobago, Junior Roberts, the goalkeeper for the home side, started his team’s slide when he handled the ball outside the area in the 24th minute. And, he was unable to stop the resulting free-kick by Shelton Williams.
Within three minutes, the score was increased by Russell Pope following a defensive blunder and the same player made it 3-0 three minutes before the interval.
Another defensive mistake swelled the soldiers lead to four in the 78th minute with Vincent Garcia being the goalscorer.

Defence Force pip unlucky Stars.

By Ian Prescott & Nigel Simon.
02-June-2003 - North East Stars are no longer the pushovers who lost the first 20 matches they played in the Pro League last season.
They proved that yesterday when matching the Defence Force in all departments, until the 84th minute when a well-placed header from striker Russell Pope secured all three points for the Army-Navy combination at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
The Round Five victory gave the Defence Force a second success this season as they continued an upward move off the bottom of the 2003 Trinidad and Tobago Pro League.
A year ago, only a committed few would have left Sangre Grande to accompany the country boys to the big city for their outings against one of the major Port of Spain teams.
But things have changed. Traditional powers Defence Force are struggling while Stars are having a better run after a hard first season at the top level last year.
So when they entered the field yesterday, the teams were on level terms.
But after half-hour of enterprising play, the Sangre Grande squad might well feel they should have had the lead.
It was just ten minutes into the match when big stopper Charles Pollard got their first chance.
Pollard could not believe his luck when his powerful header deflected onto the fingertips of goalie Selwyn George and off the Defence Force crossbar. The Guyanese defender, having come forward for a corner-kick, came as close as possible without scoring.
The Stars came close a couple more times, but on each occasion Shawn Lee was not as clinical as he needed to be in front of goal. Having also tried to pick out Randolph Jerome for much of the first half, they would have been most disappointed with his effort when they finally succeeded in freeing him.
The dangerous Guyanese front-man had the goal laid out on a platter for him by a deceptive pass from Glenton Wolfe, but hesitated to use his left foot from eight yards out. Instead, Jerome turned the ball onto his right foot and skied his shot overbar.
Striker Sherman "Ants" Phillip had the best chance for Defence Force in the 35th minute, but failed to get a short pass from Pope past the dive of Trevor Nottingham in the North East Stars goal.
After dominating the early portion of the second session, the Stars should have scored in the 58th minute. The chance came when Defence Force keeper George tried to be cute when handling a cross-ball and only succeeded in giving the ball to Jerome.
After eluding George, Jerome tried brute force to get the ball in the goal but on two occasions found the body of stopper Kelshall Alexander. The missed opportunity would return to haunt North East Stars.
Defence Force looked the stronger down the stretch and got the winner when Pope flicked the ball away from Nottingham from the resulting corner kick, after earlier striking an upright.
Later, substitute Devon Bobb would also get between Alexander and the Defence Force goalie, but just when he looked to give his team a deserved equaliser, George foiled his attempt to score.

San Juan Jabloteh bomb Defence Force.

Reports By: Ian Prescott.
23-May-2003 - The flag must have been flying at half mast at Defence Force headquarters in Teteron yesterday after the former national champions suffered the biggest-ever defeat on a football field.
It seems almost unbelievable, but Wednesday night’s 9-1 hammering of Defence Force by reigning champs CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh in the Trinidad and Tobago Pro League was real indeed. So real that it will go down as a record.
The 250 supporters at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, including national players Stern John, Brent Sancho and ex-Defence Force striker Jason Scotland were in awe at the aggressive display by Jabloteh against a clearly unfit and ragged Army-Coast Guard combination.
Goals from Kerry Baptiste (61st, 87th, 89th), Cornell Glenn (31st, 35th), Angus Eve (9th, 70th), Travais Mulraine (49th), and an own goal by Kurt Williams (57th) relegated the Army-Coast Guard squad to their greatest humiliation in local football history.
Substitute Sherman “Ants” Phillip (90th) salvaged some personal pride when he beat Jabloteh custodian Kelvin Jack in the final minute of the match.
Not since Trintoc ravaged them 5-0 at the Arima Velodrome on November 19, 1986, have Defence Force heads bowed so low. That defeat had marked the biggest humbling suffered by the Army team since the start of the then Trinidad and Tobago National League in 1974.
Coach Hudson Charles readily admitted that his charges were not competitive against Jabloteh. Charles, a key midfielder with the team which fell to Trintoc 17 years ago, also agreed that the Defence Force team of that era was a better bunch.
“We cannot compare these two teams.” he suggested. “The team which Trintoc beat 5-0 was at least competitive. But we (Defence Force) were not competitive against Jabloteh last night.”
Charles was correct. The 1986 Army team, which included Kenrick Fleary, Roderick “Rambo” Gibbs, Richard Frazer and Bertrand O’Brien had already captured the Cola Cola League Cup and the Stag Big Four title before being humbled by Trintoc.
Trintoc were a star-studded bunch. The South combination, which had Russell Latapy, Adrian Fonrose, “Marvellous” Marvin Faustin, Philbert Jones, Clayton Morris and Dexter Francis in their ranks, won the FA Trophy and then bombed the Army 5-0 in their final match of the season to clinch the National League.
That year also marked probably the best finish by a local team in international competition, when Defence Force lost the Inter-American Cup final 1-0 to Boca Juniors of Argentina. It was a match they should have won, too.
Now, after scaling such heights, the Army-Navy combination have reached the point where they are pushovers.
On Wednesday night, Jabloteh never allowed them to be competitive. From the onset, the defending Pro League champs were in full flight and took the lead from as early as the ninth minute when Angus Eve’s free-kick looped off the wall and beat Marlon Sylvester in the Defence Force goal.
Striker Cornell Glenn was a handful on the night and scored twice before the half ended. After striking the crossbar early, Glenn turned swiftly around his marker and beat goalie Sylvester from close up to notch his team’s second goal in the 31st minute.
At that stage, the Defence Force had not even remotely threatened the Jabloteh goal. It only got worse for the Army when Glenn forced defender Michael Edwards into a second rash tackle.
After picking up a yellow card for a hefty slide into Glenn, Edwards was given marching orders after an elbowing incident involving his tormentor.
Glenn would pick himself up to punish the Army with a long-range blast which beat Sylvester from almost 40 metres.
Just four minutes had elapsed in the second session when Mulraine shrugged off two hard tackles before sliding the ball past goalkeeper Sylvester for Jabloteh’s fourth goal.
A 57th minute mix-up saw Sylvester beaten again, this time by an errant back pass from defender Kurt Williams.
Four minutes later, Kerry Baptiste slid in a Kerry Noray pass. It was the first of three late goals Baptiste would score.
Eve also got a second in the 70th when he was picked out by a long, low pass down the centre of the Army defence. All Eve had to do was slide the ball away from Sylvester and into the goal.
Substitute Phillip had hardly gotten a touch before, but in the final minute of the match he outpaced the Jabloteh back line to score his team’s only goal.
Despite the impressive win, Jabloteh (seven points) trail unbeaten leaders W Connection (12 points), after a 4-0 win over last year’s bogey team Arima Fire at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva.

‘Croc’ striker gives Eastern Lions 1-0 win.

By Nigel Simon.
12-May-2003 - National striker Nigel “Croc” Pierre scored his second goal in as many games to give Joe Public a 1-0 win over Defence Force and joint second place in the T&T Professional League Senior Division.
The 24-year-old Pierre, who netted in the Lions 1-1 draw with champs Jabloteh, got the decisive strike in the 30th minute beating Defence Force custodian Selwyn George at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya, yesterday.
With his back towards goal, the tricky Pierre collected a pass from Devon Caseman before he wrong-footed his marker, spun on his left foot and fired a low right footer to the bottom right hand corner of the goal, past a motionless George.
That was the only goal, as both teams found it difficult to control the flow of the game on the dry, bouncy surface.
Several chances went abegging.
Andre Toussaint and Devon Caseman of Joe Public and second-half sub Kevon Carter of the Defence Force all fired wide when it seemed easier to score.
Toussaint and Caseman had clear-cut chances to extend their team’s advantage midway in the second half, having been put through on one-on-one chances with George.
Twice Caseman kicked over the bar from just inside the penalty area while a hesitant Toussaint dragged his efforts wide.
Lions’ midfielder Denzil Theobald also found himself in a goal-scoring position, after eluding Marvin Gordon in the penalty area, but after doing all the hard work he chose to pass the ball.
Within seconds of his ill-advised pass, Theobald was almost made to pay for his mistake, but Defence Force front-man Carter, missed the easiest chance of the game.
Carter, a 60th minute replacement for Wendell Salvary was left with an open goal after Michael McComie ventured out, but hit the right side of the net instead.

Arima Fire burn Defence Force 3-0.

By George Baptiste.
22-Oct-2002 - Arima Fire recorded a convincing 3-0 victory over Defence Force in their Round 26 match in the 2002 TT Pro League football season.
Played in front of a sparse crowd at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar, Arima on Sunday night, Dale Simon sent the firemen into the lead in the 16th minute, while Handel Manswell put the game out of the reach of Defence Force with a 63rd minute goal.
And the misery of the Army-Coast Guard combination was complete when Ronald Clarke netted the third item in second-half stoppage time.
CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh are atop the eight-team standings with 62 points, four ahead of W Connection with two more rounds of matches remaining.

W Connection edge Army.

By Mark Pouchect.
17-Oct-2002 - IT WAS a dramatic twist to an otherwise dull game.
But drab game or not, Vibe CT W Connection would have loved the timely strike by super sub Titus Elva that gave them a 2-1 win over the Defence Force yesterday in their rescheduled T&T Pro League game at Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.
Elva took advantage of the generous decision of fourth official Robyn Murray to add four minutes on at the end of regulation time to score a decisive goal that brought his team within four points of current leaders CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh.
The result gives the “Savonetta Boys” a glimmer of hope of successfully defending their title with the completion of the league just three games away.
Coach Stuart Charles Fevrier has his substitutes to thank for the opportunity.
In a game where the starters failed to show off their best game, the subs provided the spark, albeit a fleeting one, off the bench that secured the goal that counted in the end.
Before the belated substitutions in the second half that saw Elva, Jose Manoel and Silvio Spann make their entry onto the field, the Southerners’ game lacked the necessary zeal and intensity for a team who were trying to close the gap on their Jabloteh rivals.
The first half was symptomatic of that play, usual Brazilian playmaker Gefferson Da Silva Goulart and the normally nippy midfielder Ronaldo Viana seemed out of sorts and did not figure prominently in the construction of their sparodic attacks.
Also not displaying their customary sharpness were defender Jose Seabra jnr and striker Luciano Sato, part of the Brazilian element of the South squad.
For their part, opponents Defence Force did not look much the better. Sluggish and lethargic at the outset, their game also suffered from excessive dribbling and holding on to the ball too long.
An innocuous corner sent Connection ahead when Francis Lastic glanced home with his head from a Ralston James head-on after Seabra delivered a right-side corner in the 13th minute.
In the 69th, Jason Scotland benefited from Seabra’s cheeky defending when Kurt Williams regained possession before driving to the byline before squaring to Scotland. On one of the few possessions when he move nimbly, Scotland cut back on before firing home low past Alejandro Figueroa in the goal for Connection.
The substituions came at different intervals after that.
And from a Connection break in time added on, Spann forced a ball through the middle that trickled off a Defence Force defender and Elva latched onto the ball before lashing past Selwyn George for the decider. It wasn’t pretty but it was a victory nonetheless.

W Connection beats Army 2-1.

TnT Guardian Reporting.
26-Sept-2002 - Leader CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh dropped two vital points last night, when it was held 0-0 by Joe Public in the Trinidad and Tobago Professional Football League at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.
Both teams missed scoring chances in the dull affair in which two national senior players were sent off by the referee - Dale Saunders, the skipper of Joe Public, and Cyd Gray of Jabloteh.
Both Saunders and Gray were given marching orders for two bookable offences.
Jabloteh’s new signee, Nigel “Pistol” Pierre was not in its starting line. However, national defencemen Brent Sancho, who has been playing overseas, was on the team.
Champion, Vibe CT 105 W Connection, the early pacesetters, recovered some lost ground with a 2-1 win over Defence Force at the Ato Boldon Stadium.
St Lucian Francis Lastic continued his fine form by netting both goals for Connection - the first, a right-footer in the 28th minute from a Jose Luis Seabra corner, and the second, from the penalty spot in the 76th minute.
Lastic scored the penalty on the second attempt, as referee Richard Piper ordered a re-kick after goalkeeper Selwyn George moved before the ball was kicked in the first try.
Piper also had to send off Army’s Curte Fermin for showing dissent to the man in the middle, after he (Piper) awarded the penalty for a foul on Rolston James in the area.
Akudu Goodridge scored the Army’s lone goal in the 44th minute when he beat goalkeeper Alejandro Figueroa with a right-foot shot.

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