Out-of-favour national striker Jamal Gay scored a pair of goals as Play Whe San Juan Jabloteh survived a late rally from champions Central FC to earn a 3-2 win in their penultimate Digicel T&T Pro League match of the season at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on Tuesday night.
The win was a much needed one for Jabloteh as it put the Keith Jeffreys-coached club in the driving seat to finish second on the standings and secure the second available spot to next season's Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship, which serves as the qualifier to the prestigious Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League.
The win hurdled Jabloteh to 51 points, three more than Defence Force and second on the standings with a match left to play for each team.
A draw for Jeffrey's side against North East Stars in their final game on Saturday from 4pm at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella will seal the top-two finish and a return to the CFU Club Championship for the former tournament winners.
The three points also lifted Jabloteh a point ahead of Stars for the Kevon Carter trophy which is awarded to the team with the highest points tally from Round Three in the DPL.
However, a win for Defence Force against Morvant Caledonia United in their final game on Saturday from 4pm at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar coupled by a loss for the "San Juan Kings" against the Stars, can lift the Army/Coast Guard combination � boasting a superior goal-difference � to a second place finish in the league behind Central (55 points), who have qualified for a third consecutive CFU Club Championship and is the reigning two-time champions
Jabloteh got off to a great start against the under-strength Central FC when Jamaican Fabian Reid slipping the ball through the legs of Central third choice goalkeeper Javon Sample after wrong-siding defender Keion Goodridge for his fifth league goal and eighth in all competitions this season.
Reid then had a part to play in his team going 2-0 ahead when his strike in the 16th minute off a Tyrone Charles cross, fell to Gay who hit home from close range.
Gay then completed his double 11 minutes later when he took full advantage of a poor goal-kick from Sample, raced towards goal and fired in for his tenth league goal this season and 12th in all competitions.
Central without six regulars including first choice goalkeeper Jan-Michael Williams and captain Leston Paul, featured a starting line-up that included Kadeen Corbin, Nicholas Dillon and Ricardo John up front while veteran attacker Jason Marcano was overwhelmed in midfield before being replaced by Darren Mitchell almost immediately after Jabloteh's third item.
The "Couva Sharks" finally pegged their first goal back in the 80th-minute when Corbin scored off the upright to beat goalkeeper Shemel Louison from the spot to reduce the deficit 1-3 after he was upended in the area by Keyon Edwards.
Referee Rashby Mc Phie, who dismissed a penalty appeal by Central after John was brought down by Louison moments before the break, pointed to the spot again in the 84th-minute, ruling a handball against former "Couva Sharks" defender Akeem Benjamin.
Substitute Darren Mitchell stepped up and comfortably converted from the spot to further reduce the deficit 2-3, but that stood the final score-line after a last ditched overhead attempt by Jamal Jack which surprised everyone, including Louison who was lucky to see the ball fly wide.
In the other re-scheduled match, W Connection ran out 3-0 winners over cellar-positioned St Ann's Rangers in another rescheduled fixture.
Suriname forward Dimitrie Apai scored twice, netting in the 17th and 52nd minutes, before St. Lucia international Kurt Frederick wrapped up the scoring in the 62nd.
The win lifted coach Stuart Charles-Fevrier's side one spot up into fourth position with 46 points ahead of their final league game against Club Sando from 8pm at the Ato Boldon Stadium after Central take on Rangers from 6pm to complete their fixtures.
Tuesday's results:
W Connection 3 (Dimitre Apai 17th, 52nd, Kurt Frederick 62nd) vs St. Ann's Rangers 0
Jabloteh 3 (Jamal Gay 16th, 27th, Fabian Reid 7th) vs Central FC 2 (Kadeem Corbin 80th pen, Darren Mitchell 85th pen)
Current T&T Pro League standings:
Teams P W D L F A Pts
Central FC 26 17 4 5 61 20 55
Jabloteh 26 16 3 7 50 36 51
Defence Force 26 14 6 6 53 22 48
W Connection 26 13 7 6 49 23 46
N/East Stars 26 13 5 8 42 48 44
Police FC 26 12 4 10 57 51 40
Club Sando 26 9 3 14 34 52 30
Morvant/Caledonia 26 6 3 17 27 56 21
Pt Fortin Civic 26 5 4 17 23 56 19
St Ann's Rangers 26 3 5 18 26 58 14
Remaining Pro League fixtures:
Digicel Pro League 2015/16
Round Three Match Day Nine
Friday May 20:
Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva:
Club Sando vs W Connection, 6pm
Central FC vs St Ann's Rangers, 8pm
Saturday May 21:
Pt Fortin Civic vs Police FC, Mahaica Oval, 6pm
Defence Force vs Morvant Caledonia Utd, Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar, 4pm
San Juan Jabloteh vs N/East Stars, Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, 4pm