Ma Pau snatch 1-1 draw versus champs Joe Public

Striker Kerry Baptiste, who netted a league-record 34 goals in last year’s successful campaign, put the Derek King-coached outfit in front after 13 minutes before Wolfe’s persistence resulted in the game-leveller for the Michael McComie-coached Ma Pau.

The crowd at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo saw a clash which had a lot of pre-game intrigue. Joe Public’s first eleven comprised of captain Baptiste, the midfield quintet of Trent Noel, Yu Hoshide, Hayden Tinto, Micah Lewis and Kareem Young, and central defender Carlyle Mitchell (from their championship winning team), wing-backs Nigel Daniel and Makan Hislop (from Petrotrin), centre-back Radanfah Abu Bakr (free agent) and goalkeeper Marvin Phillip (on loan from W Connection).

The changes at Ma Pau were to such an extent that (in their starting line-up) only Wolfe, midfielder Kevin Molino, defender Curtis Gonzales and striker Trevin Caesar remained from last season — goalie Alejandro Figueroa, defenders Seon Power and Keyeno Thomas (from Joe Public), defender Cyd Gray (from Petrotrin), midfielders Elton John (from Jabloteh) and Corneal Thomas (from St Ann’s Rangers) and striker Lester Peltier (from Jabloteh) the new faces.

Baptiste, as he did last season, scored Joe Public’s first goal in the campaign, sliding a left-footed shot past Figueroa after fine midfield interchange between Noel and Hoshide.

John had the change to even up the scores in the 17th, taking up a loose ball following a collision between Molino and Noel, but blasting his effort overbar. Phillip sustained a head injury moments later, while defending a corner, while Gonzales was lucky not to receive a booking after an elbow to the face of Daniel.

McComie, coaching against the team who he led to the 2006 League crown, showed good inventiveness by having three players on the half-line while defending corners, while Baptiste, who lasted the full match despite a lingering back injury, was neutralised by his former club- matches Power and Thomas.

Against the run of play, Ma Pau tied the scores, with a long ball from John meeting Wolfe who appeared to be in an off-side position but no flag was raised by the linesman. A sliding Phillip saw his clearance his Wolfe and sail into the open net. In a sharp contrast to the first-half, the second period featured fewer goal-scoring chances, even though, for Joe Public, Phillip’s bandage was removed and Andre Toussaint made his league debut (after transferring from Connection) while, for Ma Pau, Wolfe was pushed up into the midfield, striker Shane Calderon made his return to the league (after a year with Valtrin United in the Eastern Football Association) and midfielder Rennie Britto (who was transfer-listed earlier this month) came on late in the match.

A breakaway, led by Wolfe, in the 79th, resulted in the ball sent to the right to Gonzales who shot wide across the face of goal. Peltier, who had an unconvincing night, could have handed Ma Pau full points in stoppage time, as his long-range effort forced a good save, to his right, by Phillip. In the earlier fixture, W Connection registered the first victory of the 2010 season, with a narrow 1-0 win over arch-rivals San Juan Jabloteh.

Matthew Bartholomew got the game-winning item in the 63rd minute but Jabloteh, with their controversial coach Terry Fenwick back at the helm, showed their unsportsmanlike side at the end as they refused to congratulate the winners after the full-time whistle. Fenwick replaced Earl Jean as Jabloteh coach last November, with Jean returning to Connection, this time as assistant to his fellow St Lucian Stuart Charles-Fevrier.

It was a pity that the scoreboard at the venue was taken off before the Joe Public-Ma Pau contest, to the dismay of the sizeable crowd on hand – even though the League promised an improvement, in all areas, for this season.

However, the two games were dealt by referees who are currently undertaking a CONCACAF course at the Dr Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence in Macoya. Jamaican Valdrin Ledgister took the whistle for the Jabloteh-Connection meeting while the Joe Public-Ma Pau match was controlled by Surinamese Enrico Wijengaarde.