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Thu, Mar

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W Connection have proved that Tuesday’s league victory over rivals San Juan Jabloteh was no fluke when they grounded out a gritty 2-0 win over the San Juan based team at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium to advance to the Fridays First Citizens Cup final.

In a hard fought and sometimes ugly game in Marabella where 52 fouls were committed and most of the action seemed to come from the medical staff rushing hastily unto the field to the aid of a grimacing player, Jabloteh controlled much of the early play restricting the defending champions to a few set pieces.

From as early as the 7th minute the striker Kerry Noray had Connection keeper Jan Michael Williams busy, back peddling to tip his goal-bound volley overbar.

Connection responded moments later from a William Olliveira’s freekick, which was parried away at the near post by an outstretched Daurance Williams.

Two minutes later Noray failed to put his side ahead when he somehow managed to head a Trent Noel freekick overbar from just outside the six-yard box after he rose unmarked in the Connection penalty area.

The game was played at a much slower pace than the teams heated encounter earlier this week with both teams playing in patches, however it was Terry Fenwick’s men who looked most likely to open the scoring and were unlucky not to do so in the 19th minute when young striker Lester Peltier dibbled down the left flank an delivered a penetrating low cross which just eluded the desperate lounge of striker Peter Prosper.

Fenwick’s men were however made to pay for their wastefulness when W Connection snatched the lead in the 28th minute through an Oliveira freekick.

After a foul on striker Andre Toussaint, the Brazilian bent a dipping freekick over the wall and past a hapless Duarance Williams to make the score 1-0.

Despite their better ball-possession Jabloteh failed to trouble Jan Michael unnecessarily and went into the dressing room with the score at 0-1 in Connection’s favour.

After the break it took almost quarter of an hour before any goalmouth action took place, ironically it came from W Connection when a deflected cross found an unmarked Toussaint inside the Jabloteh penalty area.

However with no real pressure the forward conceded to poke his shot wide of the Jabloteh net.

W Connection slowly started to seize possession from Fenwick’s men finding gaps in the Jabloteh defense.

Toussaint must have thought himself to be very unlucky in the 69th minute when he intercepted a wayward pass on the edge of the box from the Jabloteh goalie, however with the keeper in no-mans land his curling shot from a tight angle somehow managed to elude the far post.

He may have thought that he atoned for his earlier miss moments later when he got the ball into the back of the net after a nice buildup; however his attempt was disallowed by referee Shane De Silva for a push on a Jabloteh defender.

The San Juan team got a resurgence midway in the half and could have leveled the game in the 70th minute when Peltier picked out Whitley with a deep cross from the right, the national midfielder volleyed attempt was however denied by the fist of a diving Jan Michael.

With ten minutes remaining in the game both teams opened up and created a spell of good attacking football.

W Connection Substitute Kerron Smith could have sealed the game for the defending champions in the 83rd minute when he ran unto a beautiful André Pacheco cross from the right, however the striker unbelievably scooped his shot overbar from inside the six-yard box.

Sensing defeat was near Jabloteh launched a full-scale attack on the Connection goal with the outstanding Peltier being moved to central midfield and the introduction of national striker Anthony Wolfe.

It was to be Connection’s night however as Brazilian winger Oliveira disposed an opposing player on the left before picking out an unmarked Toussaint who stabbed his shot into the far corner of the Jabloteh net to make the score 2-0 in the 89th minute and effectively kill off the contest.

Jabloteh refused to accept defeat and desperately tried to make a comeback in the closing minutes, forcing Jan Michael into a series of excellent saves to keep his team in the match.

It was however too little too late for the San Juan team because at the final blast of referee De Silva’s whilst it was the ‘John Williams’ men who walked away 2-0 winners and will get the chance to defend their title—one of the most coveted in local football.

Teams

W Connection: Jan-Michael Williams; Elijah Joseph (capt), Christopher Harvey (Jerron Johnson 90th), Brenton De Leon, Nickcolson Thomas; Christian Viveros, William Da Silva Oliveira, Hughton Hector (Andrei Pacheco 78th), Ronaldo Viana; Matthew Bartholomew (Kerron Smith 77th), Andre Toussaint.

San Juan Jabloteh: Daurance Williams; Keyeno Thomas, Ian Gray, Cyd Gray, Nigel Daniel; Trent Noel, Lester Peltier, Aurtis Whitley (Akiel Guevara 84th), Kerry Baptiste (capt); Kerry Noray (Jason Marcano 46th), Peter Prosper (Anthony Wolfe 69th).

W CONNECTION v SAN JUAN JABLOTEH

2 GOALS 0
3 YELLOW CARDS 3
0 RED CARDS 0
5 SHOTS ON TARGET 0
31 FOULS 21
0 CORNERS 6
0 OFFSIDES 0

Referee: SHANE DE SILVA

Match Commissioner: Lennox Pilgrim