Isaiah Leacock netted a first-half hat-trick as AC Port-of-Spain clobbered Prison Service FC 5-1 to widen their lead at the top of the 11-club T&T Premier Football League (TTPFL) Tier I Division at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on Friday night.
With the win, AC PoS, last season's league runners-up improved to 31 points from eight matches, four more than the trio of Miscellaneous Police FC, defending champions T&T Defence Force, and Tiger Tanks Club Sando.
Playing in the second match of a double-header at Mucurapo, the Walt Noreiga-coached AC PoS took only 14 minutes to open their account through Leacock, and within five minutes hed added his second of the contest for a 2-0 cushion.
Brimming with confidence following their 1-0 win over the previously unbeaten Police in their last outing, AC PoS continued to dominate the contest and it was no surprise when they made it 3-0 in the 25th, this time with Malik Mieres the scorer, before Leacock completed his personal milestone in the 36th for a commanding 4-0 advantage at the end of the half.
Prison Service showed a more determined defensive effort in the second-half and were rewarded for their hard work at the other end when former national defender Radanfah Abu Bakr conceded an own goal for a 4-1 margin in the 59th.
But, that was the only bright spark for Prison Service on the night as Duane Muckette added a fifth item for AC PoS in the 79th to cap off a seventh win from eight matches for the league leaders.
In the earlier encounter at Mucrapo, United Soccer League-bound national winger Real Gill kept up his rich form by netting a 79th minute winner for Club Sando in a 2-1 defeat of Caledonia AIA.
Club Sando took the lead just before the interval when Nicholas Dillon latched onto a back-heel pass from Jamal Jack and fired a diagonal shot across goalkeeper Darren Donaie and into the far corner of the goal.
However, with six minutes of the restart, national youth player Lindell Sween, came off the bench to get Caledonia AIA back on level terms, when he was needlessly bundled over in the area by Jack, before he took the spot kick himself which was awarded by referee Nikolai Nyron, only to see his first effort blocked by goalkeeper Miles Goodman, before he tucked home the rebound.
The 20-year-old Gill who is expected to join USL League One club Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC within the next month then got the decisive for Club Sando in the 79th to keep his team in the title race.
To add to their woes, Caledonia AIA ended the match with ten men when defender Ronell Paul was shown a straight red card by Nyron for a high elbow through the back of a Club Sando player, two minutes into time added-on.
Down South at the Mahaica Sporting Complex, Point Fortin, Andre Ettienne made it two goals in two matches to secure a late 2-1 win for host Heritage Petroleum Point Fortin Civic Center over 1976 FC Phoenix.
The visitors led 1-0 thanks to a 28th minute penalty from Lejandro Williams, but within five minutes Isaiah Thompson also scored from the penalty-spot for Point Fortin to draw level.
And just when it looked as though both teams would have to settle for a share of the spoils, Ettienne got the winner to earn the host their third win of the campaign to move to 11 points, one behind Caledonia AIA in the seventh spot.
Last night, at the Phase II La Horquetta Recreation Ground, La Horquetta, Central FC came up against Eagles FC while Rangers and Police clashed in the second match.
Friday's results
Point Fortin CC 2 (Isaiah Thompson 33 pen, Andre Ettienne 90+4) vs 1976 FC Phoenix 1 (Lejandro Williams 28th pen)
Club Sando 2 (Nicholas Dillon 45th, Real Gill 79th) vs Caledonia AIA 1 (Lindell Sween 51st)
AC PoS 5 (Isaiah Leacock 14th, 19th, 36th, Malik Mieres 25th, Duane Muckette 79th) vs Prison Service FC 1 (Raddanfah Abu Bakr o.g 57th)
Current T&TPFL Tier I standings:
Pos Teams P W D L F A Pts
1 AC PoS 8 7 0 1 24 6 21
2 Police FC 8 5 2 1 17 6 17
3 Defence Force 8 5 2 1 18 8 17
4 Club Sando 8 5 2 1 13 6 17
5 LH Rangers 7 4 0 3 14 10 12
6 Prison FC 9 4 0 5 14 23 12
7 Point Fortin 8 3 2 3 12 10 11
8 Caledonia 8 2 0 6 10 14 6
9 1976 Phoenix 8 2 0 6 11 19 6
10 FC Eagles 7 1 2 4 6 11 5
11 Central FC 7 0 0 7 4 30 0
