Hashim Arcia scored a second hat-trick in as many matches as reigning Digicel T&T Pro League champions DirecTV W Connection blasted Antigua and Barbuda champions SAP FC 7-2 in their final Caribbean Football Union Club Championship Group Two match on Sunday at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, to set up a semifinal meeting with Couva-neighbours Central FC.
Earlier in the day at the Guyana National Stadium, Porvidence, tournament debutants and current Pro League leaders, Central FC got a double-from national midfielder Ataualla Guerra to whip host club, Alpha United 3-1 in their must-win clash to top Group One.Guerra opened the scoring in the 15th minute and then turned provider for Sean De Silva to double the lead two minutes later.
Alpha United, got the better of T&T Defence Force on penalty kicks last year in the third place playoff to reach the prestigious Concacaf Champions League, only needed a draw against Central FC to advance as group winners on goal-difference.
And two minutes before the break, former Caledonia AIA midfielder Konata Williams pulled a goal back for the host with a 25-yard free-kick past goalkeeper Jan-Michael Williams but five minutes from the final whistle Guerra stepped up and converted a penalty past goalkeeper Ronson Williams, after team-mate Darren Mitchell was brought down in the 18-yard area.Speaking after the win, Guerra stated that sealing the three points was the most important thing.
He added, "we stuck to our game plan. we played very well. We played good football on the ground. We had our moments where we should have put away more of our easier chances. However we played excellent football in the first half and in the second. We dug deep and gave it our all."
With the win, Central FC under the supervision of former England international Terry Fenwick topped the three-team table with maximum six points, after kicking off its campaign at the same venue on Friday with a 2-0 shut-out of Suriname's Inter Moengotapoe with Willis Plaza scoring a double.
Up at Couva, three-time CFU Club winners (2002, 2006 and 2009) and four-time runners-up as well, W Connection had little trouble in brushing aside SAP FC after overcoming some early pressure.The "Savonetta Boys", who clobbered Guyana Defence Force 7-1 on Wednesday inspired by Arcia's hat-trick went into the match only needing a draw while SAP FC which drew with Guyana Defence Force needed a big win.
Prior to kick off SAP FC did not do itself any favours as main strikers, former T&T based Peter Byers and Blake Thompson were barred from participating due to unlawful player registrations, just as they did during their team's opening match.And on the field, the visitors had another problem to cope with, in a rampant youthful W Connection outfit.
However, it was SAP FC which had the first two openings, the best of which fell to Tevuaghn Harriette, who managed to get behind the W Connection backline, but dragged a shot across Julani Archibald's goal in the fifth minute off the legs of W Connection captain Mekeil Williams.
From the inswing cornering, W Connection mounted a fast-break down the right side which ended with Jomal Williams (no relation) slipping a right footed shot past goalkeeper Molvin James.
National defender Alvin Jones, the brother of Chicago Fire's Alvin Jones then saw a right footed blast crash against the crossbar off of James' fingertips, before striker Jerrel Britto ran onto a lob pass into the area from Shahdon Winchester to tap over the advancing Jaes for a 2-0 cushion.
The lanky Arcia then got his first of the afternoon when he too made full use of space in the SAP FC defence, by running onto a through pass from Williams (M) and after wrong footing a retreating defender, he hammered home in the 20th.Six minutes later, former Finland-based striker, WInchester then made it 4-0 with a mid-air right footed scissors volley, the goal of the tournament, off a left sided centre from Triston Hodge.
Arcia then killed off the match as a contest with two more items before the half, in the 43rd and 45th minutes for W Connection to take a commanding 6-0 cushion into the break, and the trickling of spectators anticipating what was in store for the second 45 minutes.
But just as they did in the 7-1 defeat of Guyana Defence Force, the Stuart Charles-Fevrier coached "Savonetta Boys" dropped their intensity level on the resumption, against a SAP FC squad, which with nothing more than pride to play resorted to some robust challenge, one in particular from Tevaughn Harriette, a stamp on defender Maurice Ford who had to be substituted.
Harriette, who was lucky only to received a yellow-card from referee Rhomie Blanc of Dominica then pulled a goal back for SAP FC, beating Archibald, with a net left footed finish into the top right-hand corner.With the result beyond doubt, W Connection still had a few forays into SAP FC's penalty area with Jomal Williams blasting a free-kick off the crossbar in the 68th.
Substitute Steven Roberts got a second for the visitors four minutes, as he followed up on a rebound after Archibald parried a free-kick from Okeem Challenger into his path.With the match all but over as a contest, Britto then finish off a slick move down the right side, with a close up finish, for his second of the night, to complete the 7-2 drubbing, and with it maximum six points from its two matches.
Final CFU Club standings
Group Two:
Teams P W D L F A Pts
W Connection 2 2 0 0 14 3 6
SAP FC 2 0 1 1 4 9 1
Guyana D/F 2 0 1 1 3 9 1