Trinidad and Tobago Premier Football League (TTPFL) tier one newcomers 1976 FC Phoenix earned their first points in T&T’s top flight, on their fourth attempt, on Thursday night, as they got a huge 4-0 win over Terminix La Horquetta Rangers at the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago.
Phoenix were the TTPFL tier two winners in the inaugural campaign after going unbeaten through the league and playoff competition which ended on October 10. But the Tobago outfit had a rough start to life in tier one as they lost their first three matches by a combined 11 goals to one.
Phoenix were beaten 5-0 on the opening night by defending champions Defence Force on November 24. They then lost 4-1 to AC PoS, before going down 2-0 on Monday to a Police FC team which played the majority of the 90 minutes down to ten men.
Phoenix coach Nigel De Souza said his team had been guilty of “playing names” on paper. In Bacolet on Thursday, Phoenix showed the TTPFL audience a glimpse of their quality as they played the visiting Rangers off the park.
“Yes, we can point to a lack of experience, but the personal responsibility from the players to give that extra effort was not there in the opening matches,” De Souza told Newsday.
“I thought we played the names a little bit against Police FC. We saw (current and former national players such as) Alvin Jones, Joevin Jones, Khaleem Hyland and Mekeil Williams. (Against Rangers), we forgot about the names. Everybody strapped up their boots and we played football.”
Phoenix opened the scoring from as early as the fifth minute through their ace attacker Mickaeel Jem Gordon. Goals from Adriel George, Trevonne James and a stoppage-time item from Jariel Arthur followed in the second half as Phoenix registered arguably one of the biggest upsets in the TTPFL competition to date.
George, the man-of-the-match, bossed proceedings in the midfield, with captain and central defender Javon Williams proving to be “a tower of strength” at the back for the hosts.
“Obviously, La Horquetta are one of the top teams in T&T. We had to give (Rangers) their respect. But at the same time, you do not give people respect and not play your game. I was happy the guys responded and took personal responsibility for their performances and stepped out and gave the home fans something to cheer about.”
After Phoenix were accepted into tier one for the 2023/24 TTPFL season, De Souza told Newsday his team would not be the league’s whipping boys.
“We are still learning and adapting. Any minor mistake you make, top quality teams will punish you.
“Heading into our fourth game at professional level – I think sometimes people forget this, I think we limited the mistakes we would have made. We still made mistakes but we limited them. And then, we took our chances as well.”
Phoenix moved provisionally from the foot of the 11-team table up to eighth spot. De Souza said his team will take it a game at a time.
“We are the newly promoted team and we understand what that comes with. We understand we are climbing the ladder and nobody is going to give you respect. We have to go out there and play and earn the respect of the other teams.
“It is a very long season. About four or five guys have played at the professional level before. We will try to improve the players individually and collectively and let us see what the results say at the end of the day.”
Rangers, who finished fourth last season, are currently in fourth spot with six points after back-to-back losses.
Phoenix will aim to continue their upward trajectory when they face Prisons FC from 5 pm at the Arima Velodrome on Wednesday. Rangers will have the chance to reflect on their dip in form as they will be on a bye.
SOURCE: T&T Newsday
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