Jabloteh lift Unit Trust crown

MICAH LEWIS netted a hat-trick to guide CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh to a 3-1 win over Superstar Rangers in the final of the inaugural Unit Trust Corporation-sponsored National Under-14 Football Championships yesterday. The Jabloteh youngsters, who added the Unit Trust title to their T&T Pro League Under-14 league crown, received $10,000 for their effort. And, in the third-placed playoff at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo (each match was contested in 35-minutes-per-half), Joe Public edged Gasparillo Youths 4-3. In front of a small, but vocal crowd, Lewis opened the scoring for Jabloteh in the 50th. After fellow striker Kevin Molino dispossessed Rangers defender Kyle Davidson, he fed a goal-bound Lewis who shot home past goalkeeper Derron De Freitas.

But Rangers equalised in the 61st, with ace striker Chad De Freitas collecting a long ball from the back and slotting his attempt past an onrushing keeper Kyle Perez. Another long ball to Lewis resulted in Jabloteh’s second in the 69th, and he completed his team’s victory in stoppage time; taking advantage of a Rangers’ defensive mixup and shooting past a flat-footed keeper. “Eastern Lions” Joe Public got a treble from captain Darius Peters and another from Kern Alexander while Aaron Hector, Dexter Denol and Orlando Smith netted one each for Gasparillo.