Brawl sours football final

IN SCENES comparable to National Hockey League matches in North America, a brawl involving several players soured Friday night’s final of the Toyota Classic competition. The final was between W Connection and CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella. Connection won the encounter 1-0 but the fans estimated at 3,000, who braved persistent drizzle on the Eid holiday, were left debating—  mostly in a heated manner—  who started the melee and what punishment should be meted out to the offenders. While most would admit that the match was heading nowhere before Connection’s goal in the 67th minute, scored by Gefferson Goulart, absolutely no-one would have imagined what was to follow.

Die-hard football fans would testify that a Connection-Jabloteh contest produces both entertainment and aggression. But what occurred after Goulart’s goal seriously tarnished the image of local football, currently riding a wave of success due to the fortunes of the Warriors in their “Journey to Germany” campaign. To make matters worse, following the disgraceful spitting incident and subsequent clash between goalkeeper Marvin Phillips and referee Ramesh Ramdhan in a TT Pro League contest last year, Friday night’s incident served as an embarrassment to the League, which has launched a fantastic and innovative campaign to woo the fans back to the game. Connection, who looked the more likely of the two teams to score, earned a 67th minute freekick when a goal-bound Andre Toussaint was tripped by Trent Noel. Goulart delicately placed his right-footed effort, from 25 metres out, into the roof of the Jabloteh net.

But, in his celebrations, Goulart repeatedly thumped his chest with his right fist all the while  heading in the path of Jabloteh’s English coach Terry Fenwick. The former England defender has always been known to stand for the duration of a match (in the restrictive zone for coaches) while barking orders at his team. But as he saw the belligerent Brazilian-born midfielder heading in his direction his right elbow appeared to make contact with the celebrating Goulart’s head. The blow sent the victim spread-eagled at the Jabloteh’s bench. A straight-faced Fenwick was confronted by Connection’s captain Earl Jean, Ronaldo Viana and Toussaint and then “all hell broke loose”. Fenwick was shoved by a number of irate Connection players and, NHL-style, the benches were cleared as all and sundry rushed onto the field to exchange punches during a chaotic five-minute period.

Connection’s David Atiba Charles received a battering from a Jabloteh defender; Goulart was  manhandled while former national captain Travis Mulraine, who did his reputation no good when he got into the action with ex-Trinidad and Tobago and Jabloteh clubmate Ian Gray. Unlike events staged by boxing promoters Boxu Potts and Tansley Thompson, there were no technical knockout nor standing-eight counts, but Charles and Goulart were clearly out-punched in their scraps. With no security in sight, it was left to members of the technical staff, and even Pro League Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dexter Skeene, to quell matters on the field. What was ironic in the entire episode were the players who did not show their worth in the “coliseum”— Jabloteh’s captain Keyeno Thomas, teammates Aurtis Whitley, Kerry Noray and Kerry Baptiste, and Toussaint, all players who have earned reputations as uncompromising performers on the field.

When sanity was restored referee Richard Piper, after consulting with assistants Joseph Taylor and Michael Ragoonath, and fourth official Neal Brizan, showed red cards to Fenwick, Gray, Franklyn, Goulart, Mulraine (who was an unused substitute) and Charles, who had earlier picked up a yellow card in the 45th. With both teams reduced to nine players, there seemed little motivation by the Jabloteh players to salvage an equaliser, and they expressed their view on the state of affairs by boycotting the prize-giving ceremony.

Goal-scoring chances, overall, were sporadic, with Noel forcing a point-blank save from Connection’s goalkeeper Alejandro Figueroa in the 10th while opposing goalie Daurance Williams was forced to block a goal-bound freekick from William Da Silva Oliviera in the 35th. And Williams was again called to deny Connection’s substitute Dwight Scott in the 90th. In the third-place playoff, Joe Public crushed Defence Force 4-0, with Jamaican forward Roen Nelson recording a beaver-trick in the 20th, 38th, 56th and 72nd.

Teams -
W CONNECTION - Alejandro Figueroa; David Atiba Charles, Elijah Joseph, William Da Silva Oliviera, Nicholson Thomas; Clyde Leon, Jose Luiz Seabra (Dwight Scott 84th), Ronaldo Viana, Gefferson Goulart; Andre Toussaint (Errol Charles 75th), Earl Jean (capt) (Randolph Jerome 84th).
SAN JUAN JABLOTEH - Daurance Williams; Keyeno Thomas (capt), Ian Gray, Dexter Franklyn, Nigel Daniel; Aurtis Whitley, Trent Noel, Kerry Baptiste, Jason Marcano (Devon Mitchell 80th); Nigel Codrington (Josh Johnson 51st), Nicholas Addlery (Kerry Noray 51st).