Ian Prescott ian.prescott@trinidadexpress.com
Trinidad Express.com
Friday, May 7th 2010
CENTRAL defender Radanfah Abu Bakr provided the lone goal as Joe Public won 1-0 over fellow Trinidad and Tobago Pro League club San Juan Jabloteh, while Puerto Rico Islanders outclassed their compatriots Bayamon FC 3-0 on Wednesday’s opening night of matches in the final round of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship at Marvin Lee Stadium (MLS), Macoya.
The series continues today with a mouth-watering clash from 6 p.m. between opening night winners Joe Public and Puerto Rico Islanders, while at 8 p.m. San Juan Jabloteh will be looking for their first win when they meet the other Puerto Rican club Bayamon FC.
The top three teams at the end of the CFU finals will advance to the preliminary round of the CONCACAF Champions League.
On Wednesday night, T&T striker Kendall Jagdeosingh played for 80 minutes, while T&T defender Osei Telesford came on as a 63rd minute substitute at the central defensive position for the Islanders, who were a class above their fellow Puerto Ricans.
Noah Delgado gave the Islanders an early seventh minute lead which Jamaican Nicholas Addlery, a former T&T Pro League player, doubled in the 33rd minute to give the Islanders a 2-0 advantage at the half.
Bayamon attacked in the second half without looking deadly and it was the Islanders who went further ahead in the 51st through Joshua Hansen, even though goalie David Manzanares got a hand to his fierce volley from the centre of goal.
A good turnout of fans was present as Joe Public played out an intense goalless first half against local rivals San Juan Jabloteh.
Joe Public had the first look at their opponents goal in the third minute when midfielder Trent Noel collected an overhead pass into the penalty box, but managed to neither pick out the far corner of the Jabloteh goal nor striker Kerry Baptiste in a wider position.
Jabloteh’s English coach Terry Fenwick constantly barked orders at his players, urging them to ’press’ the Joe Public midfield. And the pressure gave Jabloteh at least one good first half chance when, after an interchange, Johan Peltier carved out a clear channel inside the Joe Public penalty area, before defender Carlyle Mitchell charged down his shot.
Mitchell later had the best chance of the half, a free header which he turned wide from Noel’s corner-kick.
Neither side could keep up the frenetic pace in the second half, but Baptiste should have done better than the feeble shot he produced when in an excellent position in the 46th.
However, his miss was soon forgotten when Abu Bakr met Noel’s left side corner at the far post and directed the ball into the roof of the net in the 50th minute.
Joe Public’s goal sparked a spell of Jabloteh pressure, but they produced few scary moments for Joe Public, except for a mild effort which midfielder Ataulla Guerra got off as he was falling down in the 70th minute.
T&T TEAMS:
JOE PUBLIC-1-Marvin Phillip(gk), 4-Kerry Baptiste(Capt.)(Y), 7-Hayden Tinto(26-Micah Lewis 46th), 8-Trent Noel, 12-Gorean Highley(10-Yu Hoshide 46th), 14-Kareem Young, 17-Nigel Daniel, 20-Makan Hislop, 19-Carlyle Mitchell, 21-Radanfah Abu Bakr, 28-Marcus Joseph(Jevon Morris 85th). Coach-Derek King
SAN JUAN JABLOTEH-1-Cleon John(gk), Marvin Oliver(capt.), 3-Christian Thomas(29-Sheldon Bateau 64th), 7Elijah Manners, 11- Ataulla Guerra(Y), 12-Robert Primus, 13-Jason Marcano, 14-Johan Peltier(Y)(6-Noel Williams 54th)(Y), 17-Kennedy Hinkson(9-Ronaldo Viana 54th),27-Leslie Joel Russell, 28-Jamal Jack.Coach-Terry Fenwick.
CFU CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS:
Puerto Rico Islanders 3 (Noah Delgado 7’, Nicholas Addlery 33’, Joshua Hansen 51’) Bayamon FC 0
Joe Public 1 (Radanfah Abu Bakr 50’) San Juan Jabloteh 0
CFU Club Championship Final Round Schedule:
Venue – Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya
Admission – Adults $40; Children $20
Today
Joe Public (T&T) vs Puerto Rico Islanders (PR)-6 p.m.
San Juan Jabloteh (T&T) vs Bayamon FC (PR)-8 p.m.
Sunday May 9
San Juan Jabloteh (T&T) vs Puerto Rico Islanders (PR)-4 p.m.
Joe Public (T&T) vs Bayamon FC (PR)-6 p.m.
