The 2014-2015 Digicel Pro League will resume on the weekend, and more so, the race to the inaugural Round One – Rawle Fletcher Trophy and $35,000 in tow.
Leaders Central FC, just one point ahead of the pack with one match remaining—against Pt Fortin Civic tomorrow from 5 pm at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva—to complete their Round One fixtures, have tallied 14 points from seven matches.
Meanwhile, defending league champions DirecTV W Connection stands within an excellent chance of hurdling their town-rivals for the title, boasting 13 points and with matches against Caledonia AIA—also tomorrow from 7 pm at Couva—and San Juan Jabloteh to complete their Round One matches.
However, it can be an uphill task on the same day for W Connection coach Stuart Charles-Fevrier, as he will be minus 11 players from his roster, against Caledonia AIA, who, as it stands, are within a mathematical chance at the title, with 11 points from six matches.
The Jamaal Shabazz coached Morvant-Laventille outfit must face probably their trickiest opponents, North East Stars, on the final match-day of the round.
The weekend action kicks off today, following the Christmas break, with a double header at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya from 5pm.
Fifth place North East Stars will take on cellar-positioned St Ann’s Rangers from 5 pm, followed by Defence Force against recently crowned Toyota Classic champions Play Whe San Juan Jabloteh from 7 pm, while Police which lies fourth on the standing are on the bye.
On December 18, with a comprehensive 6-1 hammering of Police in Round One Match Day Seven, Connection stated their intentions for the Rawle Fletcher Trophy, which was introduced this season along with the Round Two – Akeem Adams Trophy and the Round Three – Kevon Carter Trophy in memory of the fallen players while increasing the competitiveness of the DPL structure.
However, the W Connection squad is a depleted one with defender Kurt Frederick and forward Keon Boucher missing due to illness, forward Jerrel Britto on red card suspension, and midfielder Gerard Williams and goalkeeper Julani Archibald currently on Major League Soccer combine trials in Miami and Puerto Rico respectively.
In addition, Shannon Gomez, Martieon Watson, Maurice Ford, Aikim Andrews, Akeem Garcia and Jabari Mitchell are all on national Under-20 team duties at the Concacaf Championship where they will line up for T&T against Jamaica in their opener tonight, at the National Stadium, Kingston from 8 pm.
But despite all those absentees, Charles-Fevrier still has his sights set on the Rawle Fletcher Trophy.
“We definitely want the (Rawle Fletcher) trophy,” said the longstanding and very successful W Connection coach. “We are a club, and I am football person, that loves to win. I’m a fierce competitor but I never preached winning at all cost. I love to win but I do everything legally possible to win and by playing quality football. That’s what I preach.
“Every competitive, every match, the objective is to win. We always want to win and that is the spirit I have as a football person and I try to transfer that to the guys I work with.”
“I admit it wouldn’t be an easy task on Sunday against Caledonia because it will be a challenge in squad selection and I’m not sure we will even have an 18-man squad.
“We enjoy playing against Caledonia because they play a similar way to us and it’s always good to play against a team that tries to play the game in a beautiful way. But it becomes more tactical games against sides of that nature and Caledonia have been improving against us in recent years although we dominated them in the early years of the league.”
Charles-Fevrier, who led the “Savonnetta Boys” to an unbeaten tour of Suriname during the Christmas holidays, defeating a Suriname European XI 3-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw and Suriname league champions Inter Moengotapoe 2-1, said that although the Christmas break interferes with a team’s momentum, W Connection are professional enough to take preparation seriously during such time.
Standings
Teams P W D L F A Pts
Central FC 7 4 2 1 20 7 14
W Connection 6 4 1 1 16 4 13
Caledonia 6 3 2 1 12 8 11
Police 7 2 3 2 10 15 9
Jabloteh 6 2 2 2 5 10 8
N/East Stars 6 2 2 2 5 4 8
D/Force 6 2 1 3 9 10 7
Pt Fortin 6 1 2 3 9 12 5
Rangers 6 0 1 5 4 20 1
Digicel Pro League 2014-2015
Round One Match Day Eight
Today Match-ups:
Venue: Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya
North East Stars vs St. Ann’s Rangers, 5 pm
Defence Force vs San Juan Jabloteh, 7 pm
Tomorrow:
Venue: Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva
Central FC vs Point Fortin Civic, 5 pm
W Connection vs Caledonia AIA, 7 pm
