Despite missing out on securing a spot in the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup (two) and CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield (one) as a top-three team by Sunday (May 28), Terminix La Horquetta Rangers kept its slim chances of lifting the T&T Premier Football League (TTPFL) alive with a 4-1 whipping of Prisons Services FC at the Phase II Recreation Ground, La Horquetta on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, the top two clubs, AC Port-of-Spain and Defence Force, who qualified for the confederation’s cup competition, both won comfortably, 4-0 against Cunupia FC and 3-0 over W Connection to open a gap at the top while third-placed Tiger Tanks Club Sando suffered a 2-1 loss to Police FC at the Police Barracks Training Ground, Long Circular Road, St James to remain on 41 points, leaving the door open for Rangers to climb within one point.
The home team was up for the task at La Horquetta as early pressure on the visitors forced captain Anthony Parris into a sixth-minute own-goal.
Credit to Prisons Service, they did not buckle under the pressure as Rangers had to wait until two minutes before the half-time whistle to get its second item on the night via Daniel David.
Six minutes into the second half, Jordan Devonish pulled a goal back for Prisons Service, but his joy was short-lived as three minutes later, Rangers picked up from where it left off with Ataulla Guerra firing in a third item for a 3-1 lead while Tarik Lee rounded off the scoring in the 81st as they improved to 40 points from 18 matches, and four left to play, one point behind Club Sando. AC PoS leads with 48 points, two more than Defence Force, with its final day Round 22 clash looking more than likely to be the title decider on June 17.
In Sunday’s other late match, Point Fortin Civic got a 22nd-minute penalty from Marcus Joseph to edge past Central FC 1-0 at Mahaica Sporting Complex, Point Fortin, to climb into the seventh spot with 21 points, two ahead of W Connection and four behind the sixth-placed Central FC.
Sunday’s results
Defence Force 3 (Brent Sam 47th, Reon Moore 49th, Justin Sadoo 77th) vs W Connection 0
Police FC 2 (Jabari Mitchell pen, Joevin Jones) vs Club Sando 1 (Nathaniel James 61st)
AC Port-of-Spain 4 (Sedale Mc Lean 35th, John-Paul Rochford 85th, Robert Primus 87th, Duane Muckette 90+2) vs Cunupia FC 0
La Horquetta Rangers 4 (Anthony Parris 6th o.g, Daniel David 43rd, Ataulla Guerra 54th, Tarik Lee 81st) vs Prisons Services 1 (Jordan Devonish 51st)
Point Fortin Civic 1 (Marcus Joseph 22nd pen) vs Central FC 0
San Juan Jabloteh vs Morvant Caledonia AIA - postponed due to waterlogged field
Upcoming matches
Round 19:
Friday, June 2:
Defence Force vs Police FC, Arima Municipal Stadium, Arima, 5 pm
Prisons Service vs AC Port-of-Spain, Arima Municipal Stadium, Arima, 7.15 pm
Saturday, June 3:
Morvant Caledonia AIA vs W Connection, Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar, 4 pm
Cunupia FC vs Point Fortin Civic, Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, 4 pm
Sunday, June 4:
Club Sando FC vs La Horquetta Rangers, Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, 4 pm
Central FC vs San Juan Jabloteh, Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar, 4 pm
Latest standings
Team P W D L F A Pts
1 AC PoS 18 16 0 2 52 13 48
2 Defence Force 18 15 1 2 43 11 46
3 Club Sando 18 13 2 3 37 18 41
4 L.H Rangers 18 13 1 4 56 25 40
5 Police 18 10 1 7 37 30 31
6 Central FC 18 8 1 9 30 34 25
7 Pt Fortin Civic 18 6 3 9 16 20 21
8 W Connection 18 5 4 9 17 26 19
9 Morvant Caledonia 17 3 2 12 17 43 11
10 Prisons Service 18 3 2 13 11 46 11
11 Jabloteh 17 2 3 12 19 39 9
12 Cunupia FC 18 2 2 14 10 40 8