Defence Force earned a berth at the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup, despite a 2-1 loss to Cibao FC of the Dominican Republic in Santo Domingo on Tuesday evening.
The Tier 1 champions of the T&T Premier Football League defeated their opponents 3-0 at home last week, but on Tuesday, they faced an improved Cibao FC and lost 2-1 in the Second Leg of their Third Place series, which meant they won the tie on aggregate 4-2 at the Estadio Cibao in Santiago de los Caballeros.
Following an intense first period of play, the home team struck first to peg the Defence Force back 1-0. Rivaldo Correa buried a cross from his teammate Carlos Ventura in time added on of the first half.
The referee’s whistle was expected to be sounded soon after the goal as the halftime interval approached, but the home team was far from finished and shocked the visitors with another. This time Ventura, with a sight at goal, blasted his attempt off the crossbar, only for Yunior Peralta to bounce on the rebound in the 45+8 minute of play.
Coach Devorn Jorsling’s men retreated to the dressing room with hopes of revival in the second half through his words of motivation. Instead, Cibao continued their spate of relentless attacks and could have been three goals up in the 59th minute after Isaiah Garcia appeared to have handled the ball inside his own penalty area in the 58th minute. However, Correa’s attempt was fisted wide by a diving Isaiah Williams in the Defence Force goal a minute later.
However, the Defence Force pulled a goal back in the 90+4 minute, when Kevin Molino shook off his marker on his way to goal and delivered it across for the unmarked Darius Olliviera to tap the ball into an open net for the 2-1 result.
Despite the advantage on the field of play, it was the Defence Force that celebrated after the match.
