Connection hold Jabloteh to 1-1 draw

A LATE goal by St Kitts striker George Isaac gave W Connection a 1-1 draw against leaders CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh in their top-of-the-table 12th round clash in the T&T Pro League yesterday. But the crowd at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo by would have been disappointed at the overall display of both teams, with individual play taking centre stage instead of team creativity. Jabloteh striker Cornell Glen, a thorn in the Connection defence for the entire match, had the first goalscoring opportunity, shooting wide from a Josh Johnson centre in the 14th minute while, two minutes later, Connection striker Jason Marcano had his shot saved by Kelvin Jack after eluding Jabloteh stopper Ansil Elcock. With no Connection striker providing support to midfielder Lyndon “Chubby” Andrews in a goalbound attack in the 27th, the 27-year-old sent a 30-metre blast inches wide of the mark. Jack did well to stop a 34th minute rocket from Kerwyn “Hardest” Jemmott while, six minutes later, Jabloteh striker Devon Mitchell saw his goal disallowed by referee Ramesh Ramdhan after a rough tackle on Connection midfielder Ronaldo Viana.

Luck would strike Jabloteh’s way three minutes into the second half, with Mitchell finding fellow national player, left-back Nigel Daniel who shrugged off the challenge of Stokely Mason and sent a low right-footer past Connection’s goalie Alejandro Figueroa. Figueroa was blinded by a dummy from Glen but the introduction of substitutes Silvio Spann, Arnold Dwarika and Isaac gave Connection’s attack a renewed look in the final half-hour of play. Jack was again called into action, punching away a blast from Spann in the 57th but, despite the ejection of defender Kenwyne Jones in the 84th, got the vital equaliser two minutes from time. The Jabloteh defence failed to clear a loose ball, leaving midfielder Gefferson Goulart with the simple task of finding an unmarked Isaac who powered his left-footer past Jack. Over in the sister isle Tobago, South Starworld Strikers remained atop the Under-20 standings with a 7-0 whipping of Tobago United at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet. Brent Julien and Solomon Beaumont each netted a double for the victors while Nicholas Fortune, Damien La Fortune and Andy Edwards chipped in with one apiece. Jabloteh jumped to second spot after a 3-2 win over Connection with goals from defender David James (40th), Jerol Forbes (62nd) and Rennie Britto (84th) while Toshua Benjamin had a double (59th and 90th) in a losing cause for Connection.  A full slate of five matches in round 13, in both senior and Under-20 divisions, will take place on Wednesday.