Play Whe San Juan Jabloteh will go into today's final round of matches in the 2015/2016 Digicel T&T Pro League only needing a point against Japs North East Stars to secure second spot behind champions Central FC, to qualify for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship, the qualifier to the Concacaf Champions League.
But with North East Stars attempting to jump the "San Juan Kings" for the Kevon Carter trophy, which is awarded to the team with the highest points tally from round three in the Pro League, earning the desired point could be a difficult task, let alone, a win when both sides meet from 4pm at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella.
Jabloteh (51 points), second on the regular DPL standings, are three points clear of third-positioned Defence Force (48 points), and one point ahead of North East Stars on the Kevon Carter trophy standings.
A loss, however, against North East Stars coupled by a win for Defence Force in their final game against Morvant Caledonia United, also on Saturday, from 4pm at the Larry Gomes Stadium could see Jabloteh lose it all � handing the "Sangre Grande Stars" the Kevon Carter trophy and the Army/Coast Guard combination the highly sought-after CONCACAF Champions League qualifiers spot and a Defence Force booster ahead of their Digicel Pro Bowl 2016 final against W Connection on May 27.
Last week, Jabloteh coach Keith Jeffrey warned that "qualifying for the CONCACAF Champions League qualifiers is most important for the club's management."Jeffrey added, "The Caribbean knows Jabloteh as a powerhouse and we believe it's time we return to CFU."
Jabloteh are coming off a 3-2 win over recently crowned CFU and DPL champions Central in a rescheduled league fixture last Tuesday, and are undefeated in their last 10 league games with a record of 9 wins and 1 draw.
Meanwhile North East Stars, who are yet to defeat Jabloteh side this season following a 2-2 draw and 3-1 loss, have seven wins from their last eight league games which included a 4-0 loss against Central, when the "Couva Sharks" completed the DPL repeat on May 8.
As for Defence Force, the Marvin Gordon coached-side's record against Caledonia this season stands at 3 wins, including an 8-0 hammering of the Morvant side, and 2 losses in all competitions.
Defence Force most recently defeated Caledonia 2-0 on May 10 in the quarter-finals of the Pro Bowl, avenging a 5-1 loss less than a month earlier in the quarter-finals of the Lucozade Sport Goal Shield 2016 which the "Eastern Stallions" went on to capture.
This weekend's final slate of 2015-16 league games will kick-off with a double-header on Friday at the Ato Boldon Stadium with Club Sando against W Connection from 6pm followed by champions Central FC against cellar-positioned St. Ann's Rangers from 8pm.
On Saturday, Point Fortin Civic will host Police FC from 4pm at the Mahaica Oval simultaneously to the fixtures at the Mannie Ramjohn (San Juan Jabloteh versus North East Stars) and Larry Gomes (Defence Force versus Morvant Caledonia United) stadia.
More info
Remaining Pro League fixtures:
Digicel Pro League 2015/16
Round Three Match Day Nine
Today:
Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva:
�2 Central FC vs St. Ann's Rangers–6pm
�2 Club Sando vs W Connection–8pm
Tomorrow
�2 Police FC vs Pt Fortin Civic, Mahaica Oval, Pt Fortin, 4pm
�2 Defence Force vs Morvant Caledonia Utd, Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar, 4pm
�2 Jabloteh vs North East Stars, Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, 6pm
Digicel Pro Bowl Final
Friday May 27
Ato Boldon Stadium:
�2 W Connection vs Defence Force
Current 2015/2016 Digicel 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
Kevon Carter Round Three Trophy Pro League table:
Teams P W D L F A Pts
Jabloteh 8 7 1 0 18 7 22
N/East Stars 8 7 0 1 21 12 21
Central FC 8 5 0 3 17 7 15
Police FC 8 4 1 3 15 15 13
Defence Force 8 4 0 4 10 11 12
W Connection 8 3 2 3 8 7 11
Club Sando 8 3 1 4 16 20 10
Morvant/Caledonia 8 1 2 5 9 16 5
St Ann's Rangers 8 1 0 7 6 17 3