FABIAN TAYLOR and Kavin Bryan scored within the space of three minutes to give Harbour View a 2-1 win over Joe Public to seal the 2007 Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championships after today’s final at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Tunapuna.
Trinidad and Tobago midfielder Kerry Baptiste put the “Eastern Lions” Joe Public ahead, in the 16th minute, before the visitors replied in the 21st and 23rd to guarantee them a place in the 2008 CONCACAF Champions’ Cup.
Both teams kept the same lineups from their semifinal matches, which were contested on Wednesday at the same venue.
Jermaine Hue was involved in the first meaningful chance at goal, starting and finishing a move with himself and fellow midfielder Loxley Thomas which resulted in Hue’s left-footer hitting the crossbar after Joe Public failed to clear Thomas’ initial shot.
Another Jamaican, Joe Public’s striker Roen Nelson, ran into a pair of Harbour View defenders but Devon Caseman’s right-footed follow-up missed the target by a few inches.
Baptiste will put the hosts in front when he got in front of defender Ricardo Smith and tucked his left-footed effort past the left hand of goalkeeper Dwayne Miller after Kendall Jagdeosingh’s cross rolled across the face of goal.
Jagdeosingh, operating on the left, got a loose ball and cross which was missed initially by Baptiste while Nelson’s tame effort was blocked by Jermaine Taylor.
The Jamaicans responded with a pair of quick-fire goals to tilt the balance clearly in their favour, both featuring the trio of Hue, Bryan and Fabian Taylor.
On the edge of the penalty box, Hue teed up Bryan who, in turn, spotted an unmarked Fabian Taylor inside the box and the forward, in one motion, turned and drilled his right-footer past the motionless Joe Public goalkeeper Alejandro Figueroa.
Hue shrugged off a lame challenge from Joe Public midfielder Silas Spann and spotted Bryan who, with only Figueroa to beat, slipped the ball to his strike partner Fabian Taylor to poke home.
Nelson came agonisingly close to tying the scores when, with two defenders on him, his right-footed effort trickled past a bemused Miller and cannoned off the uprights.
Gregory Richardson, as he did in the semifinal against Puerto Rico Islanders, came on for Caseman midway into the first half but, like Nelson, he was kept in check by the rugged Harbour View defence.
Joe Public’s full-back Keyeno Thomas was pushed up front to utilise his height, and he nearly got the equali ser early in the second half as he failed to connect on a left-sided ball from Jagdeosingh.
The goal-frame again came to the rescue, this time for Joe Public, as Fabian Taylor and Bryan played a neat one-two but Fabian Taylor’s effort rebounded off the crossbar.
Harbour View captain Christopher Harvey was sent off by referee Roberto Moreno of Panama in the 56th minute for his second bookable offence, but Joe Public never capitalised on the numerical advantage, as Power headed a Richardson cross overbar, an unmarked Baptiste struck the bar and substitute Kendall Davis headed a Baptiste centre overbar.
Trinidad and Tobago midfielder Kerry Baptiste put the “Eastern Lions” Joe Public ahead, in the 16th minute, before the visitors replied in the 21st and 23rd to guarantee them a place in the 2008 CONCACAF Champions’ Cup.
Both teams kept the same lineups from their semifinal matches, which were contested on Wednesday at the same venue.
Jermaine Hue was involved in the first meaningful chance at goal, starting and finishing a move with himself and fellow midfielder Loxley Thomas which resulted in Hue’s left-footer hitting the crossbar after Joe Public failed to clear Thomas’ initial shot.
Another Jamaican, Joe Public’s striker Roen Nelson, ran into a pair of Harbour View defenders but Devon Caseman’s right-footed follow-up missed the target by a few inches.
Baptiste will put the hosts in front when he got in front of defender Ricardo Smith and tucked his left-footed effort past the left hand of goalkeeper Dwayne Miller after Kendall Jagdeosingh’s cross rolled across the face of goal.
Jagdeosingh, operating on the left, got a loose ball and cross which was missed initially by Baptiste while Nelson’s tame effort was blocked by Jermaine Taylor.
The Jamaicans responded with a pair of quick-fire goals to tilt the balance clearly in their favour, both featuring the trio of Hue, Bryan and Fabian Taylor.
On the edge of the penalty box, Hue teed up Bryan who, in turn, spotted an unmarked Fabian Taylor inside the box and the forward, in one motion, turned and drilled his right-footer past the motionless Joe Public goalkeeper Alejandro Figueroa.
Hue shrugged off a lame challenge from Joe Public midfielder Silas Spann and spotted Bryan who, with only Figueroa to beat, slipped the ball to his strike partner Fabian Taylor to poke home.
Nelson came agonisingly close to tying the scores when, with two defenders on him, his right-footed effort trickled past a bemused Miller and cannoned off the uprights.
Gregory Richardson, as he did in the semifinal against Puerto Rico Islanders, came on for Caseman midway into the first half but, like Nelson, he was kept in check by the rugged Harbour View defence.
Joe Public’s full-back Keyeno Thomas was pushed up front to utilise his height, and he nearly got the equali ser early in the second half as he failed to connect on a left-sided ball from Jagdeosingh.
The goal-frame again came to the rescue, this time for Joe Public, as Fabian Taylor and Bryan played a neat one-two but Fabian Taylor’s effort rebounded off the crossbar.
Harbour View captain Christopher Harvey was sent off by referee Roberto Moreno of Panama in the 56th minute for his second bookable offence, but Joe Public never capitalised on the numerical advantage, as Power headed a Richardson cross overbar, an unmarked Baptiste struck the bar and substitute Kendall Davis headed a Baptiste centre overbar.
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