AN unprecedented fourth consecutive loss has left nine-time Trinidad and Tobago champions Defence Force last and pointless at the bottom of the T&T Pro League football competition, after four rounds of matches.
Admitting that this may be the Army team's worst-ever start to a local football campaign, newly-returned head coach Anthony Barrington is nevertheless confident of a soon to come turnaround in his team's fortunes.
Commenting on his team's 4-0 defeat to CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh on Saturday in the opening game of a double-header at the Larry Gomes stadium, Barrington, a former Trinidad and Tobago and Defence Force defender, said : "As coach, I am not worried because my programme started late. This is just the fifth week of my programme and it's not that we are playing that bad. We are just not scoring goals and also we are not defending as well as we could."
Last in charge when his team claimed the FCB Cup in 2002, Barrington said it will take some time for his team to gel, but he expects to be picking up points by the fifth or sixth round of the competition. He said that despite the pressure, he is encouraged by the effort his players are making to carry out his programme.
Meanwhile, new signing Anthony Wolfe scored his fourth goal in as many matches as Jabloteh maintained their 100 percent record. First half headers by big defender Keyeno Thomas and Peter Prosper put Jabloteh comfortably ahead at the half, before Wolfe, the 21-year-old former North East Stars striker, stripped Defence Force's Anton Thomas and drilled his shot over goalkeeper Cleon John to give Jabloteh a third goal. A minute from time Jason Marcano stabbed home a low centre to give his team a fourth goal.
At Couva's Ato Boldon Stadium, defending champions W Connection gradually wore down a stubborn Caledonia AIA defence before coming away comfortable 3-0 winners. The Morvant-based Caledonia AIA held their own until the stroke of half-time when they were finally breached by the superior ball movement of the defending champions. Started on the left flank, the ball was fed to Earl Jean, who swept it through the legs of his marker for Brazilian Ronaldo Viana to run in free on the right flank and slap the ball past Michael Woods in the Caledonia AIA goal.
W Connection began the second half firing on all cylinders and could have blown Caledonia clear out of the match in the opening five minutes. But poor finishing meant they had nothing more to show for their efforts until Jean tucked a low shot past Woods in the 57th minute to make it 2-0 to W Connection. Goalkeeper Woods made even W Connection owner David John Williams applaud when he acrobatically changed direction to palm a shot from Andre Toussaint away from his near post with his left hand. But Woods had no answer to Andre Pacheco's low, angled shot which beat the keeper before nestling inside the far corner of the AIA goal in the 86th minute of the match. Caledonia created few chances, but should have scored before Connection got their third. A bad bounce surprised Connection keeper Jan Michael Williams who fended a corner-kick away from his goal, but straight to AIA defender Stephen Gray who, unfortunately for his team, stabbed his shot just wide.
In the second game of the double-header at the Larry Gomes Stadium, two goals from Arnold Dwarika, including a penalty, put Joe Public comfortably ahead in their match with Superstar Rangers, before Lyndon "Chubby" Andrews put away a cross-ball for the third goal. Kerwin "Hardest" Jemmott then drove home a shot from 20 metres to give Joe Public a 4-0 victory. Saturday's final game, at Palo Seco, saw Tobago United holding United Petrotrin 1-1 to pick up their first points of the season.
T&T PRO LEAGUE RESULTS:
North East Stars 1 (Charles Pollard) Starworld Strikers 0;
Joe Public 4 (Arnold Dwarika (2), Lyndon Andrews, Kerwin Jemmott) Superstar Rangers 0;
CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh 4 (Keyeno Thomas, Peter Prosper, Anthony Wolfe, Jason Marcano) Defence Force 0;
W Connection 3 (Ronaldo Viana, Earl Jean, Andre Pacheco) Caledonia AIA 0;
United Petrotrin 1 Tobago United 1
UPCOMING T&T PRO LEAGUE MATCHES:
Saturday April 29
3:30 p.m. - Joe Public v W Connection, Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya
6:00 p.m.- Caledonia AIA v Superstar Rangers, Larry Gomes Stadium
6:00 p.m. -Defence Force v United Petrotrin, Hasely Crawford Stadium
6:00 p.m. - Tobago United v Starworld Strikers, Dwight Yorke Stadium
Sunday April 30th
North East Stars v CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh, Sangre Grande recreation ground