Defence Force will have to battle tooth and nail for a place in the final of the Concacaf Caribbean Cup on October 29 at Independence Park in Kingston, Jamaica, when they face Mount Pleasant Football Academy of Jamaica for a second time in the semifinals.
On Wednesday night at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, the inactivity of the out-of-season T&T Premier Football League champions took its toll in a heavy 5-1 defeat by the Mount Pleasant Academy. Playing at home, the Defence Force looked anything but competitive on the night, as the Jamaicans moved on easily to tying the record for the longest winning streak in the competition, at five consecutive wins.
Their achievement started as early as the fifth minute when Warner Brown played a give-and-go with captain Daniel Green on top of the Defence Force penalty area, only for the former to drill the ball powerfully below the advancing body of Christopher Biggette in the Defence Force goal for a 1-0 advantage.
Despite the support of a bare crowd at the Mucurapo facility, the usual speedy response that fans had become used to from the Defence Force Elite during matches had been sadly lacking. Instead, the Jamaicans increased their dominance and then their score in the moments that followed. This time, Raheem Edwards left defender Sheldon Bateau bundling over with sheer power and speed to latch on to a ball that was served airborne in the 15th minute and lashed it past the advancing Biggette for a 2-0 scoreline.
But the Defence Force, led by midfielder Kevin Molino, came alive only in the 34th minute. Molino, the architect, lifted the ball to Kaihim Thomas on the left side of the Mt Pleasant goal area with the expectation of a shot at goal. But instead, Thomas returned the ball to Molino, who had been standing all alone, but his shot fizzled into the side netting and never troubled goalkeeper Tafari Chambers in the Mt Pleasant goal.
With Jamaica leading 2-0 at the halftime interval, Defence Force coach Devorn Jorsling still could not inspire his charges, who looked well out of touch defensively. And it showed again in the 57th minute as Edwards received his brace. The diminutive striker benefited from a throw-in on the left side that was touched comfortably in his path by Green for him to hit sweetly on the volley past Biggetter for the 3-0 lead.
The Defence Force, the unbeaten champions in Tier 1 of the TTPFL, as well as the First Citizens Cup Knock Out, showed a glimpse of its potential in the 73rd minute. Molino was at the end of a poor defensive clearance inside the Mt Pleasant goal area, but his low shot was somehow kept out by Chambers.
And soon after, the rebound was met with a looping header by Thomas, but again it was hacked to safety by defender Fitzroy Cummings.
On the other end, though, there was little to no resistance by the Defence Force team, which led to Shaqueil Bradford breaking the offside trap in the 84th before drilling the ball past Biggette for the team’s fourth goal of the night. Still, the Theodore Whitmore-coached team was far from finished. And they got their fifth on the stroke of regulation time. This time, Kimoni Bailey was picked out unmarked in the Defence Force box and fired it hard and low past Biggetter to confirm maximum points from the encounter.
However, complacency seemed to have stepped in as the game appeared to be heading for a 5-0 Mt Pleasant victory. In the 90+8 minute, Thomas benefited from a defensive blunder and hit the ball past Chambers for their lone consolation item. The result meant that the Defence Force men would have to overturn a 5-1 scoreline to have a chance of qualifying for the final.
