Keron Bruno was the toast of his Defence Force team-mates as he netted with virtually the last kick of the match to earn his team a thrilling 3-2 win over defending champions Club Sando Moruga when matches in the National Super League Premier Division continued on Sunday.
Six minutes after the restart, Tareek Joseph drew Club Sando Moruga level again, and the match seemed headed for a draw until Bruno struck in the final minute to secure Defence Force a seventh win from eight matches to lead the 15-team table with 21 points, five more than a surging Guaya United which came from behind to beat Real Maracas 2-1 at the Maracas Recreation Ground, St Joseph.
Ricardo Bennett handed Real Maracas a ninth 1-0 lead which his team held until it conceded an own goal in the 72nd followed by an Andre Alfred winner for Guaya, five minutes later. Down at Petrotrin Ground, Fyzabad, Jesse Edwards and Andy London both scored braces to lead Siparia Spurs past 1976 FC Phoenix, 5-3.
Phoenix was the one to open the scoring through Onasi Forde in the 32nd, but then saw Edwards (37th, 39th) and London (45th) hit back for Spurs to lead 3-1 at the half to the delight of their supporters. On the resumption, Phoenix took the match to the host and got goals from Forde (53rd), his second and Andel Brown (65th) to tie up the score at 3-3, however Spurs stepped up another gear and regained the lead within two minutes thanks to a second item from London, while Daniel Garcia added a fifth strike in the 88th minute to seal all three points.
With the win, Spurs joined Phoenix on 14 points, but the latter has a match in hand while idle Police FC, WASA FC and Petrotrin Palo Seco are next, all with 13 points. WASA inspired by two second-half goals from former T&T striker Gary Glasgow edged Marabella Family Crisis Centre 3-2 at WASA Ground, St Joseph and Petrotrin Palo Seco also won 3-2 over Stokely Vale at Plymouth Recreation Ground.
SUNDAY’S NSL PREMIER DIVISION RESULTS
•Siparia Spurs 5 (Jesse Edwards 37th, 39th, Andy London 45th, 67th, Daniel Garcia 88th) vs 1976 FC Phoenix 3 (Onasi Forde 32nd, 53rd, Andel Brown 65th)
•WASA 3 (Akil Harley 8th, Gary Glasgow 48th, 81st) vs Marabella Family Crisis Centre 2 (Arvid Applewhite 24th, Kurlan Khan 57th)
•FC Santa Rosa 4 (Claudius Howard 5th, Shaka Pilgrim 16th, Jean-Paul Aqui-Blanc 50th, Osei Sandy 65th) vs Bethel United 1 (Christian Caines 15th)
•Guaya United 2 (own goal 72nd, Andre Alfred 77th) vs Real Maracas 1 (Ricardo Bennett 9th)
•Defence Force 3 (Josimar Belgrave 7th, 29th, Keron Bruno 90th) vs Club Sando Moruga 2 (Nigel John 21st, Tareek Joseph 51st)
•Matura Re United 5 (Irving Reyes 8th, 10th, 45th, Shervin Charles 45th, Kerin Vincent 55th) vs La Horquetta S.A 3 (Kerron St Cyr 7th, Omeaku Barbour 21st, Nathan Julien 90th)
•Petrotrin Palo Seco 3 (Sylvester Teesdale 13th, Antuan John 52nd, Tigana Sparks 55th) vs Stokely Vale 2 (Akim Baynes 32nd, Leshawn Roberts 40th)
CURRENT NSL PREMIER DIVISION STANDINGS
Teams P W D L F A Pts
Defence Force 7 6 0 1 15 6 18
Phoenix 6 4 2 0 7 2 14
Police 6 4 1 1 17 7 13
Guaya Utd 7 4 1 2 16 9 13
Marabella Family 6 3 2 1 14 9 11
Siparia Spurs 7 3 2 2 13 16 11
WASA 7 3 1 3 10 8 10
Petrotrin P/S 6 3 1 2 9 9 10
Matura Reunited 6 1 3 2 8 9 6
Bethel Utd 6 2 0 4 6 9 6
La Horquetta 5 1 2 2 7 9 5
Santa Rosa 7 1 2 4 11 17 5
Club Sando Moruga 6 0 3 3 4 10 3
Real Maracas 5 0 2 3 4 8 2
Stokely Vale 7 0 2 5 4 17 2
Sunday August 30th matches
•Marabella Family Crisis Centre vs Siparia Spurs, Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, 4pm
•FC Santa Rosa vs Police FC, Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya, 4pm
•Petrotrin Palo Seco vs Guaya United, Palo Seco Municipal Stadium, Palo Seco, 5pm
•1976 FC Phoenix vs Real Maracas FC, Canaan Ground, Bon Accord, 5pm
•La Horquetta S.A vs Club Sando Moruga, Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar, 4pm
•Bethel United vs WASA FC, Mt Gomery Recreation Ground, 5pm.
•To be rescheduled:
Matura ReUnited vs Stokely Vale
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