Police put unbeaten TTPFL run on line vs AC PoS

From 8.10 pm at the St James Police Barracks on Friday, Police FC (17 points) and AC PoS (15 points) will meet in an intriguing clash between the top two teams in the ongoing 2023/24 Trinidad and Tobago Premier Football League (TTPFL) season.

Police are unbeaten in their seven games thus far this season and hold a slender lead over AC PoS on the 11-team table. Police have recorded five wins, to go along with two draws which came against Eagles FC (formerly Cunupia FC) and defending champions Defence Force. On the flip side, AC PoS had their impressive five-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, as they were beaten 1-0 by Defence Force at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo. On the final day of the inaugural season in June, AC PoS were also defeated by the Army, who clinched the title in exciting fashion and relegated the “Capital Boys” to a runner-up finish.

Police coach Wendell Joseph said his team will not make life any easier for AC PoS, and he believes the team that makes fewer mistakes will emerge victorious.

“A win for us will give us more cushion so we are just going to try and do the things we have been doing for the past couple of games, and we hope we can get a favourable result,” Joseph told Newsday.

A Police team that added the Soca Warriors duo of Alvin and Joevin Jones during the inaugural campaign, bolstered their lineup ahead of this season with the addition of players such as Keron Cummings, Willis Plaza, Mekeil Williams and former TT captain Khaleem Hyland.

Joseph said the inclusion of players with international experience has blended well with the youth in Police’s squad and has given them a much-needed boost on their quest for a TTPFL title.

“Of course, (we want to win the league). Any team entering a competition – if your goal is not to win the (tournament) or be in the top three – then you are already starting at a minus.

AC PoS manager Junior Maxwell said his team’s result against the Army was a minor “setback,” and he is banking on his team to bounce back to their best form against the lawmen.

“We had chances to put that game away (against Defence Force) and we did not take them. Sometimes in football, those little things can happen,” Maxwell said. “Every game is a must-win game, but you have to take every game as it comes and try to get the three points.”

AC and Police have almost identical goal differentials, with both team’s conceding five goals thus far in the young season, and AC PoS’ league-leading tally of 18 goals just edging Police’s 17.

Joseph reckons his team’s experience can be a catalyst for Police to get three points. Maxwell is hopeful AC PoS’ chemistry can trump Police’s wealth of experience and he says his team must be more clinical in front of goal.

“Police have put together a fairly new team. Sometimes, it can take a little longer to gel. That may be the one thing our players have over them as we have been together for a bit. Once we execute how we are supposed to, anything is possible.”

In the first game of the Barracks double-header, the third-placed Army (14 points) will meet the fifth-placed Terminix La Horquetta (12 points) in another mouthwatering clash. After sloppy starts to the season to end 2023, both Army and Rangers have started 2024 with back-to-back wins to close the gap on the top two.

Tiger Tanks Club Sando have also notched wins in their last two games – recording two clean sheets in the process. Sando will aim to extend their winning run to three matches when they host fellow southerners Heritage Petroleum Point Fortin Civic (seven points) from 3.30 pm at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar.

In Friday’s other encounter, 1976 FC Phoenix (three points) will host Central FC (zero points) in a battle of the league’s cellar-placed teams at the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago from 6 pm.

TTFPL tier one standings:

Team*GP*W*D*L*GF*GA*GD*Pts

1.Police FC*7*5*2*0*17*5*12*17

2.AC PoS*6*5*0*1*18*5*13*15

3.Defence Force FC*7*4*2*1*16*8*8*14

4.Club Sando*6*4*1*1*10*4*6*13

5.La Horquetta Rangers*6*4*0*2*14*8*6*12

6.Prisons FC*7*3*0*4*11*17*-6*9

7.Point Fortin Civic*6*2*1*3*9*8*1*7

8.Caledonia*6*2*0*4*8*10*-2*6

9.Eagles FC*7*1*2*4*6*11*-5*5

10.1976 FC Phoenix*6*1*0*5*5*16*-11*3

11.Central FC*6*0*0*6*3*25*-22*0