Army women get revenge over Club Sando, lift WoLF Knockout Cup

DEFENCE Force lifted the 2024 TT Women’s League Football (WoLF) Conference Knockout Cup on July 29 when they got a 2-0 win versus rivals Club Sando in the final at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo.

The Club Sando team came into the final on a high, as they defeated the Army/Coast Guard combination by a 2-1 margin in the final of the Women Warriors Wellness invitational tournament in Mucurapo on July 19. Club Sando were also searching for a WoLF double, having clinched the league crown with a comfortable win over AC PoS in December 2023.

The south-based team also brought good scoring form to the WoLF knockout final, as they brushed aside Tobago Chicas by a 6-0 margin in their semifinal on July 21. The Defence Force ladies weren’t settling for the title of bridesmaids again, though, and they also had a commanding surge to the final after discarding Tobago’s Jewels SC by a 5-1 margin in their semifinal on July 23.

In the final, Defence Force put Club Sando’s thoughts of a double to bed, and goals in either half by Shaunalee Govia and star attacker Aaliyah Prince took them to the crown.

Govia, a central defender who represents the Women Soca Warriors, may be best known for her shrewd play at the back, but she showed her ability on the attacking front as well when she stunned Club Sando goalkeeper Keri Myers with a long range free kick from near the halfway line in the first half.

Defence Force took a 1-0 lead into the half, and they took their decisive 2-0 lead early in the second half when Prince, the top scorer in the Women Wellness tourney, beat Myers with a clinical touch.

The game became stretched in the latter stages as fatigue set in, and the tricky Prince was a livewire on the counter-attack with her pace and incisive passing.

Defence Force could have added to their lead, but an alert Myers made a pair of sharp saves to ensure the scoreline stayed respectable, with midfielder Akilah Gomez also flashing wide from a tight angle in the 84th minute as she just missed the opportunity to put extra gloss on her team’s win. The Army battalion got the job done, though, and their revenge for the loss in the Women Wellness final was exacted.