CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh footballers kept their chances alive in the T&T Professional Football League when they scored a 3-1 win over Arima/Morvant Fire, on Sunday under lights at Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar, Arima.
While the win was set up by two first half goals by Kerry Baptiste, Jabloteh, the defending champion, had to dig deep to avoid a troublesome “Fire” outfit.
Baptiste opened the scoring in the 18th minute, capitalising on a mix-up between goalkeeper Michael Woods and defender Darryl James to tap home.
The latest addition to the squad Peter Prosper, engineered the second goal in the 31st minute, getting the ball in midfield and moving up field to lay on a perfect pass for Baptiste to finish the effort.
“Fire” came fighting back in the second period and was rewarded with an Ashford Legerton goal in the 55th minute, following a clever move by Conrad Smith, who dribbled three players before setting up his teammate.
The “Fire” players had their fair share of chances, with Smith and Legerton getting the best opportunities to score.
Prosper killed whatever chance “Fire” had of getting back into the game when he took advantage of a blunder by the defence to net easily in the 83rd minute.
A pointer as to who will win the league will take place tomorrow, when Jabloteh clashes with table-toppers North East Stars at Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar, Arima, from 7 pm.
A win for the Sangre Grande-based North East Stars will put the team in a solid position, since it is three points up and have a far superior goal difference over Jabloteh, and the other main contender, Vibe CT 105 W Connection.
A Jabloteh victory, and a win for W Connection over Defence Force at Hasely Crawford Stadium (7 pm) will see all three teams locked on 48 points, setting up a gripping finish.