Old foes Jabloteh, Connection in Pro Bowl final

IT WILL be the old familiar story —  CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh against W Connection in the final of the inaugural T&T Pro League Pro Bowl competition on August 6, at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Arima. Jabloteh and Connection emerged winners of their semifinal matches against Starworld Strikers and Arima/Morvant Fire repectively at the Arima venue on Friday. In the first match of the double-header, Connection edged Fire 2-1 while Jabloteh cruised past Starworld 3-0. Andre Toussaint put Connection ahead on the stroke of halftime while Jose Luiz Seabra doubled the advantage for the Southerners in the 52nd minute.

Trinidad and Tobago midfielder Densil Theobald reduced the deficit to 2-1 when he sent his 63rd minute header past goalkeeper Alejandro Figueroa but Fire were unable to find the equaliser, to the delight of the Connection’s supporters. Trinidad and Tobago captain Angus Eve stunned the Starworld hopefuls with a goal after 10 minutes of play. Eve sent Josh Johnson clear on the right and the slimly-built winger returned the ball to an onrushing Eve to slam home past Starworld’s goalkeeper Marvin Phillip. Johnson and striker Kerry Noray were involved in a give-and-go on the left, with Johnson’s delicate left-side cross (from outside his right boot) headed overbar by a leaping Devon Mitchell. Starworld’s attackers indulged in an overdose of dribbling, and were unable to make any serious impact on the Jabloteh’s defence.

But striker Randolph Jerome, sent through on goal by ex-TT midfielder Lyndon “Chubby” Andrews in the 42nd, saw his right-footer blocked by TT Under-23 goalie Daurance Williams. Mitchell extended Jabloteh’s lead in the 54th, after he powered his one-time shot past Phillip after receiving a defence-splitting pass from Travis Mulraine. Jerome almost got Starworld back in the contest in the 60th, but his header, from a Dale Saunders’ corner, was cleared off the line by Jabloteh’s defender Nigel Daniel. But the San Juan lads would put the match beyond Starworld’s reach in the 65th, with Johnson slamming a loose ball past Phillip.