Tag: Ricardo John

Malabar Youngstars, Maloney maintain unbeaten records in EFA

EASTERN Football Association (EFA) holders Malabar Youngstars (19 points) continued their unbeaten run in the 2025 campaign on October 5 when they got a thumping 5-1 win over Heatwave FC (eight points) in their group A clash at the Arima Velodrome.

Midfielder Abraham Martin scored a brace to lead Youngstars, with Kendell Borneo, Jeromy Joseph and veteran striker Ricardo John scoring a goal apiece. Youngstars have won six of their seven matches thus far this season and have a four-point lead in group A ahead of CPC Athletic International Academy (15 points).

At Eddie Hart Ground in Tacarigua, CPC made a big statement when they hammered SKHY FC 7-0. Malachi Woodley scored a hat-trick to lead CPC, with Isaiah Isaac scoring a brace. Koby Morin and Damon Sankar scored a goal apiece. Also in group A, the third-placed Athletic United (12 points) also enjoyed themselves in front of goal when they defeated La Horquetta XF 6-1 at UTT’s O’Meara campus. Jeneke Danzell scored a hat-trick for Athletic United, with Kaylon Williams and striker Kesean St Rose also among the scorers as their team made light work of group A’s fourth-placed club.

In group B, FC Maloney (18 points) made it six wins out of six when they edged Wallerfield United (ten points) in a top-three clash. Isaiah Edwards and silky midfielder Jadel Carter scored for Maloney. In Tacarigua, group B’s second-place team Eastern Connect FC (13 points) dropped precious points when they were held to a 2-2 draw by the struggling Trincity Nationals (two points). Corie Dhanoolal and Chris Toussaint found the target for Eastern Connect, with Jaden Cordner and centre forward Malachi Celestine scoring for Trincity.

Also in group B, the fifth-placed FC Porto Arima (nine points) spanked the cellar-placed Zebulun FC 8-0, with last season’s runner-up CG Poseidon (seven points) edging USC Hummers 2-1. Nyrek Thornhill and veteran attacker Mikheil Peters both scored twice in Porto’s rout of Zebulun, with Codel Bailey and Tyrek James scoring the goals for Poseidon in their tight win over the Hummers.

After round-robin play, the top four teams from the two groups will contest the “Big 8” from October 26, leading up to the final on November 9. The EFA winners will pocket $15,000, with the second- and third-place teams receiving $10,000 and $5,000, respectively.

Army thump Caledonia 5-1, maintain ten-point TTPFL lead

TRINIDAD and Tobago Premier Football League (TTPFL) tier one leaders Defence Force (47 points) got back to winning ways in the 2024/25 campaign when they hammered the seventh-placed Caledonia 5-1 at the Arima Velodrome on April 25.

After successive draws against Terminix La Horquetta Rangers and reigning champs AC Port of Spain, Defence Force were intent on showing their prowess as they totally outplayed “Cale” to consolidate a ten-point lead atop the table.

In what was a scrappy defensive performance by Caledonia, the Army/Coast Guard combination jumped out to a 2-0 lead after 17 minutes after Isaiah Leacock and ace playmaker Kevin Molino scored from close range.

In the 19th minute, Caledonia got on the scoresheet in spectacular fashion when Tobago flanker Jariel Arthur scored with a speculative long-range effort that lobbed over goalkeeper Jabari St Hillaire. It was Arthur’s first goal with the club since transferring from 1976 FC Phoenix.

Defence Force assumed a commanding 4-1 lead by the end of the half as Shaquille Bertand and Kaihim Thomas both found the back of the net. In the 73rd minute, Molino grabbed his second goal of the game after a flowing move from the right side. It was Molino’s 14th goal of the campaign, which took him to the top of the TTPFL scoring charts alongside his teammate Leacock.

In the first game of the Arima double-header, the second-placed MIC Central FC Reboot (37 points) got a last-gasp victory over Club Sando as a stoppage-time goal from winger Tyrone Charles earned them a 1-0 win.

At the Phase 2 La Horquetta recreation grounds on April 26, last season’s runners-up Miscellaneous Police FC (30 points) just escaped defeat as a stoppage-time goal from Mickaeel “Jem” Gordon earned them a nail-biting 4-4 draw with Eagles FC.

Eagles came into the match at the foot of the 12-team table, but they gave the lawmen a run for their money and even jumped out to a 2-0 lead after first-half goals from Moses Jaikeran and striker Ricardo John. Police midfielder Joevin Jones notched his 12th goal of the season before the halftime break to cut into Eagles’ lead.

Eagles continued their enterprising play as Aikim Andrews gave them a 3-1 lead in the 52nd minute, before Kareem Freitas pulled another goal back for Police in the 54th minute to make it 3-2.

Gordon tied the scores at three apiece in the 76th minute, before John scored a penalty in stoppage time to give Eagles what appeared to be a decisive lead. However, Gordon had the last say when he scored in the fourth minute of stoppage-time to earn Police a point.

Police are in fourth spot on 30 points, with Eagles (eight points) moving up one spot to 11th.

At the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva on April 27, Phoenix (16 points) got a surprise 1-0 victory over the third-placed San Juan Jabloteh (31 points). In the other game of the Couva double-header, AC PoS had their own return to winning ways when they defeated the cellar-placed Point Fortin Civic 2-1.

Michael Chaves, the Secondary Schools Football League’s P of the Year for 2023, opened the scoring for AC PoS in the 14th minute, with Jabari Watson equalising in the 30th minute for Civic. Attacker Mark Ramdeen won all three points for AC PoS with a decisive goal in the 81st minute.

AC PoS consolidated fifth spot with the win, but they’re just one point away from Jabloteh as they continue to hunt a Concacaf Caribbean Cup qualifying spot.

TTFPL tier one standings:

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

Defence Force FC*17*15*2*0*66*17*49*47

Central FC*17*12*1*4*44*26*18*37

Jabloteh*17*9*4*4*38*25*13*31

Police FC*17*9*3*5*50*32*18*30

AC PoS*17*8*6*3*32*20*12*30

Club Sando*17*7*4*6*28*17*11*25

Caledonia*17*7*3*7*27*39*-12*24

La Horquetta Rangers*17*3*7*7*29*34*-5*16

1976 FC Phoenix*17*4*4*9*21*34*-13*16

Prisons FC*17*3*5*9*22*33*-11*14

1976 FC Phoenix*17*4*4*9*21*34*-13*16

Eagles FC*17*2*2*13*16*69*-53*8

Point Fortin Civic*17*3*1*13*15*42*-27*7

Defence Force, AC Port of Spain notch key Premier League wins

LEAGUE leaders Defence Force extended their unbeaten run in the TT Premier Football League (TTPFL) tier one division to seven wins in as many matches, after securing a 3-0 victory over second-placed MIC Central FC in match two of a double-header at La Horquetta Recreation Ground on January 17.

In the top-of-the-table clash, Isaiah Leacock netted a first-half brace and Shaquille Bertrand also got on the scoresheet to affirm Defence Force three crucial points over the nearest rivals.

Leacock scored the opener in the 11th minute and Bertrand doubled their advantage, five minutes later. In the 38th, Leacock netted his second item to make it 3-0 heading into the half-time break.

Despite Central FC’s multiple attempts to ignite a comeback in the second period, they could not penetrate Defence Force’s sturdy backline and recorded their second loss of the 2024/25 season.

The win for Defence Force saw them soar to 21 points on the 12-team standings while Central FC (15 points), still hold on to second place courtesy a superior goal difference over third-placed and defending champions AC Port of Spain, who also emerged victors in the opening match at the La Horquetta venue.

Against last season’s runners-up Miscellaneous Police FC, AC PoS sealed a 2-0 triumph courtesy a 73rd-minute strike from Che Benny and a goal from Josiah Wilson, nine minutes into second half extra time.

The result kept AC PoS (15 points) in third as Central FC’s goal difference kept them slightly ahead.

Police’s (ten points) loss also saw them slip to fifth place as San Juan Jabloteh notched an important 4-3 result over struggling Terminix La Horquetta Rangers on January 18, to leapfrog the servicemen into fourth.

At Ken Cooke Grounds in St James, Jabloteh almost blew a convincing three-goal advantage as Rangers fought back late on.

Jabloteh started strongly and quickly got off the mark courtesy Elijah Seecharan in the second minute. St Benedict’s College talisman Derrel “Zum Zum” Garcia sent them 2-0 ahead in the 23rd minute, before Andell Fraser added another in the 29th minute.

Just before halftime, Rangers’ Isaiah Lee pulled one back to make it 3-1 heading into the break.

At the resumption, Jabloteh continued their dominance as Keanu John scored in the 51st to put them a comfortable 4-1 up.

Lee, however, struck again for Rangers soon after and carried the score to 4-2 in the 62nd minute. Ranger’s Ricardo Williams helped them reach within a one-goal deficit after he netted in the 85th.

Rangers tried to tie things up at the end, but Jabloteh held on for a hard-fought 4-3 victory.

In the other match at Ken Cooke grounds, cellar-placed Eagles FC (formerly Cunupia FC) earned their first win of the season via a 4-2 win over Prisons Service FC.

Eagles took an early lead through Moses Jaikaran in the second minute, but Prisons’ Jeremiah Vidale answered back in the 39th to level things up before the halftime break.

Aikim Andrews put Eagles ahead in the 52nd but again, Vidale found the back of the net to make it 2-2, six minutes later.

Undeterred, Eagles’ Ricardo John restored the lead with a 66th minute strike, before Andrews netted another in 72nd to put the match beyond Prisons’ reach.

At the Mahaica Sporting Complex in Pt Fortin after press time on January 19, Club Sando played 1976 FC Phoenix in the first game, with hosts Point Fortin Civic up against Caledonia in the second match.

AC Port of Spain drop points in TTPFL title race

Last season’s TT Premier Football League (TTPFL) top two finishers Defence Force and AC PoS had contrasting results when league action resumed with a double-header at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo on Thursday night.

Defending champions Defence Force (34 points) jumped to third spot on the 11-team TTPFL table as they rallied late to blank the Eagles FC 2-0, while AC PoS (35 points) were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw by the eighth-placed Prisons FC.

In the first match, Defence Force got a stern test from an Eagles outfit which looked like the more fluent outfit in the first half, particularly with the trickery of Haitian attacker Exilus Angelo. In the 37th minute, the diminutive Angelo drew a fine save from Soca Warriors custodian Christopher Biggette at the end of a flowing Eagles counter-attack.

In the 53rd minute, Biggette was called into action from point-blank range once again when striker Malachi Celestine sent a tame effort on goal after dancing past defender Jelani Felix in a one-on-one sequence.

The reigning champions were far from their best, but they capitalised on Eagles’ lack of sharpness in front of goal to kill off the game with a pair of quick strikes.

Mere seconds after entering the match, Army midfielder Nathaniel Garcia broke the deadlock in the 69th minute when he scored with a crisp left-footed shot from close range after receiving a low cross from striker Brent Sam.

Four minutes later, Defence Force doubled their lead when midfielder Matthew Woo-Ling beat goalkeeper Miles Goodman with a deflected left-footed shot after a neat exchange with substitute Rivaldo Coryat.

Prisons FC goalkeeper Aaron Enill put on a Man-of-the-match showing versus AC PoS in the TTPFL on Thursday. Photo courtesy TTPFL. –

Last season, the inaugural TTPFL title slipped out of AC PoS’ hands when they were defeated by the Army in the final game of the campaign. Trailing this season’s leaders Miscellaneous Police FC (38 points) by four points before kickoff in Mucurapo, the AC PoS players would have been getting flashbacks when striker Ricardo John gave Prisons the lead in the 19th minute. At the end of a counter-attack, John beat veteran goalkeeper Marvin Phillip with a looping header following a lovely scooped pass from Nathaniel Perouse.

Prisons’ early goal set the pattern for the game as they defended with their bodies on the line and tried to strike on the counter with lone striker John.

Former Army goalkeeper Aaron Enill was in fine fettle for Prisons and he made a total of seven saves, while his defenders also made key blocks to keep AC PoS at bay.

In the 51st minute, Prison’s resistance was broken when Sedale McLean scored from close range after receiving a service from Michel Poon-Angeron.

In search of the precious win to move within a point of Police, AC PoS laid siege on the Prisons goal. However, an inspired Enill denied AC PoS on every attempt to preserve the point, including two fine reaction saves to stop lanky Grenadian striker Jamal Charles

Though they still trail Police by three points, AC PoS will take solace in having a game in hand on their closest rivals. Both Defence Force and Police have two games left, while AC PoS have three games remaining.

League action will resume tomorrow when Police travel to Tobago to face 1976 FC Phoenix in a rescheduled match from 5.30 pm at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet.

TTFPL tier one standings:

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

1.Police FC*18*11*5*2*39*17*22*38

2.AC PoS*17*10*5*2*40*19*21*35

3.Defence Force FC*18*10*4*4*33*18*15*34

4.Club Sando*18*9*5*4*30*21*9*32

5.La Horquetta Rangers*18*7*4*7*36*33*3*25

6.Point Fortin Civic*18*6*5*7*25*20*5*23

7.1976 FC Phoenix*16*7*1*8*24*29*-5*22

8.Prisons FC*19*7*1*11*24*35*-11*22

9.Caledonia*18*5*6*7*26*25*1*21

10.Eagles FC*18*5*4*9*21*28*-7*19

11.Central FC*18*0*2*16*12*65*-53*2