WASA stay afloat, Maraval eye crown

WASA Clean and White maintained their lead atop the table in the inaugural All Sport National Super League with a 3-0 thrashing of Tamana United at WASA Ground, St Joseph yesterday. Caroni were also in winners’ row yesterday, squeezing past Club Sando 3-2 at Gilbert Park, Couva. And, on Friday night, a crowd numbering 2,000 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo saw Maraval Youth Academy edging Defence Force 3-2 while another protective service team, Police, also lost by a similar scoreline to Crab Connection. Before the crowd could settle down for the nightcap at Mucurapo, the lawmen grabbed the lead after two minutes of play, with stocky striker Brent Lyons unleashing a 25-metre shot which sailed past Connection goalkeeper Achim Persue.

But the Crabs dusted themselves and went on a three-goal burst in the space of 10 minutes, a spell that decided the outcome of the eagerly-awaited match. From a short corner on the left, in the 15th, the dread-locked Roger Patrick sent a lob that found Jerome Bennett whose header struck the upright and nestled in the back of the net. The other two goals for the Eastern Football Association (EFA) powerhouse were due to defensive lapses. In the 22nd, Marlon Warner dumped a long ball forward to a goal-bound Michael Alexis who, to his delight, capitalised on a missed clearance from Kheon Archie to blast home from 12 metres out. Three minutes later, goalkeeper Ryan Edwards failed to hold a drive from Bennett, with Irving Trim tapping into the open goal.

A header from Police captain Neri Joseph cannoned off the upright in the 41st but, in the 56th, a long ball from substitute Dwight Elliott was missed by Persue while Kevin Baptiste saw his attempted clearance enter his own net. Both teams seemed exhausted by their exploits, with Connection holding firm for full points. Maraval kept their unbeaten run intact with a come-from-behind win over the Army-Coast Guard combination, who now have faint hopes of pocketing the $25,000 jackpot. Defence Force got the first goal on the night through Cliff Lewis after 28 minutes before Sherwin Waldron equalised on the stroke of halftime. Ainsley Joyeau gave Maraval their first lead in the 66th but Kwese Larrier converted a free kick three minutes later to but D/Force back on level terms. But Joyeau snatched the winner in the 75th to keep Maraval in the hunt for the top prize.