Joe Public win again

Joe Public were looking to atone for their loss, at Macoya, to Defence Force in the First Citizens Cup final, but they made only one change to their starting lineup, with Micah Lewis replacing fellow winger Gorean Highley. Ma Pau, on the other hand, welcomed back the trio of defenders Curtis Gonzales, Meikel Williams and Kevin Molino to the squad, after their trip with the national team to the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Egypt. Gonzales made the starting line-up while Williams and Molino were second-half substitutes. Ma Pau nearly opened the scoring in the 10th minute as Shandel Samuel found his strike partner Trevin Caesar but the teenager failed to divert the ball into the back of the net. In the 27th, Baptiste headed a right-sided centre from Hoshide wide of Jefferson George’s right-post, in the Ma Pau goal.

George was unable to do anything to prevent a well-taken free-kick from Noel to go past his right, and into the back of the net, in the 37th. And Baptiste eventually found the target two minutes later, taking a left- sided pass from Lewis and driving his right-footed effort past the outstretched George. James got Ma Pau’s lone item in the 41st, out of the blue, as his long-range right-footer got an awkward bounce and went past the left of goalie Alejandro Figueroa.

There was a bizarre occurrence at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva as San Juan Jabloteh was unable to field a team for their meeting against Defence Force since a number of their players were reportedly afflicted with flu-like symptoms from their return from a CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage encounter against DC United in the United States – some of the players needed medical attention as a result.

That game will have to be replayed but the scheduled fixture between Caledonia AIA and W Connection took place, and Connection prevailed 1-0 due to a 49th minute strike by their prolific forward, Dominican Republic’s Jonathan Frias, his 10th for the season. Caledonia ended the game with 10 men as national midfielder Keon Daniel was sent off, in the 73rd minute, for a second bookable offence. The Big Six features the top six teams after Round Two of the season, with the squads battling for both the Big Six and the overall league crown – Jabloteh won both titles last year. Round Three Match Day Two will take place today with action at both Macoya and Couva. A double-header will be contested in Macoya with Caledonia meeting Ma Pau at 6 pm while Joe Public will oppose Jabloteh two hours later. And, at Couva, Connection will face Defence Force from 7 pm.

STANDINGS

League Teams P W D L F A Pts

Joe Public 21 13 5 3 53 25 44

Caledonia AIA 21 13 1 7 49 31 40

San Juan Jabloteh 20 11 6 3 29 16 39

W Connection 21 10 7 4 37 17 37

Ma Pau 21 10 4 7 32 24 34

Defence Force 20 9 5 6 36 26 32

United Petrotrin 20 7 9 4 32 21 30

FC South End 20 4 4 12 15 36 16

St Ann’s Rangers 20 4 3 13 22 46 15

Tobago United 20 2 7 11 17 32 13

Police 20 2 3 15 16 64 9

Big Six Teams P W D L F A Pts

Joe Public 1 1 0 0 3 1 3

W Connection 1 1 0 0 1 0 3

San Juan Jabloteh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Defence Force 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Caledonia AIA 1 0 0 1 0 1 0

Ma Pau 1 0 0 1 1 3 0