Fearless armies clash in First Citizens final

DEFENCE Force’s TT Premier Football League (TTPFL) tier-two coach Kelshall Alexander said his team is not overawed by the opposition or occasion as they face their tier-one counterparts, the recently crowned TTPFL champions, in the First Citizens Cup final on June 19. The match kicks off at 7 pm at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo and will see the tier one’s Army/Coast Guard combination putting their unbeaten record for the 2024/25 season on the line.

Defence Force’s tier-one team copped last season’s First Citizens Cup title on the back of a hat-trick from forward Isaiah Leacock as they defeated AC Port of Spain 3-1. Leacock is one of six players who will be missing the final because of Concacaf Gold Cup duty with the Soca Warriors, while dangerous forward Reon Moore will also miss the clash after getting a straight red card in a 3-0 semifinal win over MIC Matura ReUnited on June 11. Defence Force’s tier-one skipper Kevin Molino and central defender Justin Garcia are among the players missing out owing to national duty.

Still, Defence Force tier one will start as favourites after sauntering to the 2024/25 league title in coach Densill Theobald’s debut season.

In the opposite camp, Alexander, who returned as Defence Force’s tier-two coach last season, said his team cannot be written off.

“I would have seen the various interviews and heard the comments from players and so on. By no stretch of the imagination do we want to engage with those who are commenting and the banter and war of words, as I would call it,” Alexander told Newsday on June 17, referring to statements made by players and staff of the tier-one team. “The football is played on the field and the battle will be won on the field.”

To their credit, Defence Force’s tier-two team have done a lot of their talking on the field this season, and have defeated four tier-one teams on their run to the final. With wins over 1976 FC Phoenix, San Juan Jabloteh and Prisons FC in the earlier rounds, Defence Force tier two got their biggest scalp in the semis when they stunned Miscellaneous Police FC 3-2. Veteran attacker Dwight Quintero scored the winning item deep in second-half stoppage-time to eliminate Police, who finished third in the tier one this season.

Alexander said there is a strong familiarity and camaraderie between the teams and reckons the gap in quality isn’t that great.

“To me, there's no big difference or big disparity between tier one and tier two. The level of football is not very far. We're not worried or panicked, but we don't need to talk or promote that.”

He says the players missing from Defence Force’s tier one setup does little to change the battle.

“Their players would have been off any form of duty for the season. Our players worked and play football. They work, play football and go back in base. There's no excuse or comparison. They're supposed to have a big squad because they are professionals,” Alexander said.

“We're not loudly confident, but we're quietly confident and we're just coming to do the job we have been doing all season. People will not see a one-sided game and they will not see (us) roll over. We are coming to play football, so whoever thinks otherwise they are free to do so.”

Theobald: All guns blazing

Meanwhile, Theobald, whose international career included a stint at the Fifa 2006 World Cup with the Soca Warriors, said his troops were ready to show their pedigree.

“I'm very happy for the tier-two team with what they have achieved and accomplished so far this season and the remarkable feat they have had in First Citizens Cup,” Theobald said, via a June 17 social media post from Defence Force.

“On Thursday, we're going to show the public and our organisation why we're the tier-one team and why they are tier two. We're going to come with all guns blazing,” Theobald said.

“We hope to put down a spectacle for the fans who show up and we urge them to come out in their numbers.

“Bring your family, bring everyone. It will be an entertaining clash of Defence Force.”