Superstar Rangers and Police won their Sportworld Super League fifth round matches yesterday to keep things tight at the top of the standings.
At the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo, Rangers beat WASA Clean and White and stretched their unbeaten streak to five matches with a 2-0 score against the 2003 champion team.
In the early stages, both teams seemed eager to get off the mark and fought tooth and nail, but while Rangers played a “possession” game and worked their way forward and WASA relied on the long ball, the first goal came from a dead ball situation.
Rangers won a free-kick just on top of the 18-yard box, following some good work by their midfielders. In the 21st minute, Lorne Joseph put the ball into the net at the right of Douglas Mc Neilly, in goal for WASA, to give his team a 1-0 lead at half-time.
As WASA pressed for an equaliser and Rangers defended valiantly, play became increasingly physical and had to be stopped many times for injured players from both sides to be attended to.
Rangers managed to hold on to the lead, despite pressure form their opponents and Sayid Freitas spurned two clear chances which could have put victory beyond WASA — in the 47th and 49th minutes.
Freitas redeemed himself in the second minute of injury time, against the run of play, as he controlled the ball from a Colin Roberts clearance, rounded two WASA defenders, and slipped it through Mc Neilly’s legs from an acute angle.
Neri and Kareem Joseph (no relation) were again on song for second-placed Police to help their team a 3-1 triumph over Couva players United at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva.
Neri got his first goal in the 39th minute in to get Police back level, after Jason Marcano’s 15th-minute goal had given Couva the early lead, so the teams went into the interval tied 1-1.
On the resumption, Neri Joseph gave his team the lead in the 72nd minute the and other Joseph put in Police’s third goal in the third minute of injury time.
Angostura 1976 FC Phoenix was back to winning ways as Dominique Kerr and Haydn Moses scored for a 2-0 victory over Maraval Youth Academy.
Kerr’s 32nd-minute headed goal came after Kevin Keith dribbled two defenders and delivered a pin-point left side cross. Haydn Moses converted a 70th-minute penalty.