Army book Concacaf Champions Cup spot at the death

TENSIONS reached fever pitch at the final whistle between Cibao FC and Defence Force in their third-place playoff in the Concacaf Caribbean Cup in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, on December 2, as the latter team dramatically booked a spot in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup despite a 2-1 loss in the second leg. Defence Force won the tie 4-2 on aggregate.

Defence Force were up 3-0 after a strong first-leg performance at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, last week and would have been favoured to progress despite playing the second leg on the road. Cibao had other ideas, though, and they turned the momentum in the tie when they scored twice in first-half stoppage-time through Rivaldo Correa and Yunior Peralta to take a 2-0 lead on the night and cut Defence Force’s aggregate lead to 3-2.

Before their go-ahead goals at the end of the opening half, Cibao thought they went ahead in the fifth minute, but Angel Perez’s close-range effort was ruled out for offside – a fate they also suffered in the first leg when they thought they had pulled back a late goal.

It was a nervy second-half performance by Defence Force as they sat back and tried to soak up pressure from a Cibao team which looked determined to overturn the deficit from the first leg. After a brilliant showing in his team’s first leg victory, which earned him plaudits from coach Devorn Jorsling, Defence Force goalie Isaiah “Blinky” Williams showed off his mettle between the sticks again when he saved a 59th-minute penalty from Correa after right back Isaiah Garcia was penalised for handling in the area.

Williams’ save seemed to breathe new life into the Army/Coast Guard combination, which faced as many as 23 shots and also gave up 70 per cent possession to the opposition. The second-half flow was broken up by an array of substitutions from both teams as Cibao looked for the goal to potentially force extra-time, while the Army tried to lock up shop.

In the 88th minute, Cesarin Ortiz headed over the bar after Carlos Ventura put in a dangerous cross from the left, while Defece Force were counting their lucky stars just four minutes later when the ball crashed off the post after Correa headed dangerously into the six-yard box from a deep free kick.

In the fourth and penultimate minute of stoppage time, Defence Force put a dagger through Cibao’s Champions Cup hopes. On the periphery for most of the game, veteran Defence Force captain Kevin Molino skilfully held off a persistent tug from a Cibao defender on the right and ghosted down the flank before expertly squaring for substitute Darius Ollivierra, who tapped in from close quarters to score the all-important away goal and spark wild scenes from his teammates and coaches. The Army bench emptied as the away contingent swarmed Ollivierra to celebrate the knockout punch as Defence Force stretched their aggregate lead to 4-2 to clinch the match.

After the final whistle, which came mere moments after Ollivierra’s goal, players from both teams were involved in a melee which started near the sideline and drifted towards the centre of the pitch. When the dust settled, though, the reigning TT Premier Football League champions were jubilant as their third-place finish secured them a spot in the Champions Cup alongside this year’s Caribbean Cup finalists Mount Pleasant Football Academy and Universidad O&M FC. Mount Pleasant and O&M played the second leg of their final after press time on December 2.