Jabloteh inch closer to CFU final round

This after 10-man Jabloteh improved their stranglehold of Group E in St Vincent with a 4-1 comeback win over Guadeloupe’s Club Sportif Moulien on Friday at Victoria Park in Kingstown.

Panamanian midfielder Jairo Lambardo, 19, scored on either side of the break to cushion Jabloteh, after the San Juan Kings needed an equaliser through Verlon Mills after midfielder Minji Gomez had first put Moulien ahead.

Nathan Lewis capped off the victory with a late item but Jabloteh, already without injured striker Jamal Gay, must do without influential captain Damian Williams in their final group stage game against second-positioned System 3 Sport Academy today.

The Jamaican defensive midfielder received a direct red card midway in the second half.

His position will be filled by Kion Joseph, Elijah Manners or Keyon Edwards, who according to coach Keith Jeffrey, have all “stepped up their game making the selection process a difficult one.” The win kept Jabloteh perfect with six points and a superior goal difference of +12 ahead of the clash against Vincentian team System 3 who have three points and a +3 goal difference.

System 3, with a mountain of a challenge against Jabloteh, crushed Flames United 9-2 in the second game on Friday, jumping ahead of Moulien (3 points / +1 goal-difference) on goal difference, while Flames, who will face the Guadeloupe side in their final game today, are anchored at the bottom without a point.

While a win or a draw will see Jabloteh through to the Final Round, a loss – based on the goal margin – can also suffice.

“We want to leave with nine points,” said Keith Jeffrey, who plans to rotate his squad against System 3.

“We want to finish as shining group winners, but this game also allows us the opportunity to give other players more playing time, such as Tyrone Charles, Kadeem Corbin and Kennedy Hinkson, and give the team some fresh legs.” The Jabloteh coach described the performances of Nathan Lewis, Keithy Simpson, Lombardo and Verlon Mills as “tremendous”, and said the competition within his entire team has been brilliant. He also singled out the performances of goalkeepers Javon Sample against Flames United and Andrew Durant against Moulien as great for the team.

Moulien had grabbed the lead on 13 minutes through Gomez and Jeffrey conceded that his side was outplayed for the first 20 minutes against the Guadeloupe outfit.

“I was very much impressed by Moulien,” said Jeffrey.

“They were similar to Central FC in Trinidad, good structure in their play and all.

But they (Moulien) didn’t have the speed to complement their play. Our speed and movement made the difference for us.” Mills equalised for Jabloteh on 17 minutes, the Guyana winger’s second goal of the tournament, before left-footed talent Lombardo gave the Pro League outfit a 2-1 lead by the 20th-minute.

Lombardo completed his double in the 68th-minute with his third goal of the campaign before he was replaced injured.

Lewis, who scored a hat-trick against Flames in Wednesday’s 9-0 opening win, got his fourth goal of the campaign five minutes from the end as Jabloteh moved one step closer to the Final Round.

Central, as reigning champions received a bye to the Final Round which will be contested in two groups of three, with the overall group winners advancing into the title match and the Caribbean’s place in the newly re-formatted CONCACAF Champions League