A double each from Shannon Gomez and Jomal Williams led DirecTV W Connection to a 7-0 annihilation of Japs North East Stars 7-0 in a lopsided affair at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar to close the gap on leading Digicel T&T Pro League duo, Defence Force and Central FC.
In addition to 19-year-old Gomez and 21-year-old Williams, the trio of Dimitrie Apai, 21, veteran Andre Toussaint and 19-year-old Aikim Andrews were also on target for coach Stuart Charles-Fevrier’s side as they stacked up on confidence ahead of the two-week Carnival break with their biggest win margin of the season, which eclipsed a 7-1 spanking of Pt Fortin Civic on January 19.
The win improved W Connection’s hold on third place on the standings with 29 points, three points off leaders Defence Force (32 points) and one behind defending champions Central FC (31 points). North East Stars, now winless in their last four outings, remain fifth with 22 points, one adrift of Play Whe San Juan Jabloteh.
Jomal Williams fired the “Savonetta Boys” ahead on 14 minutes by beating Stars’ second choice goalie Shane Mattis from inside the area, while regular number one Cleon John looked on from the bench.
Surinamese international forward Apai made it 2-0 four minutes later when he put away a Kurt Frederick cross at the back post before Shannon Gomez snatched a double, his first goals of the season.
First, Gomez, fired in a Dwight Quintero feed following a flowing move in the 31 minutes, before he assisted on Toussaint’s volley in the 37th and then capped off a splendid first-half by getting his second and the team’s fifth by rounding defender Glenton Wolfe and slotting the ball past Stars’ goalkeeper Shane Mattis in first-half stoppage-time.
Twenty minutes into the second-half, Mattis was hung out to dry again by his defence after producing two saves to deny Williams.
St Lucia international full-back Frederick dispatched another brilliant cross beyond Mattis for Williams to head home for his tenth league goal and 15th in all competitions this season, and two minutes later Williams and Gomez linked up in the box to set up substitute Andrews to blast from close range to complete the 7-0 drubbing and the Sangre Grande based outfit worst league defeat of the season since a 6-1 loss to Defence Force on December 19 under previous coach Roland Clarke.
What made the lopsided victory for W Connection boss Charles-Fevrier so pleasing was that it was achieved without the services of inform strikers Shahdon Winchester and Neil Benjamin Jr, who are both sidelined due to injury along with first choice goalie Julani Archibald.
Defence Force holds the biggest league win of the season with an 8-0 victory over Morvant Caledonia United on January 8, equalling North East Stars result over Super League side Siparia Spurs in the preliminary round of this season’s Toyota Classic on November 4, 2015.
Stars’ now led by two-time Defence Force Pro League-winning coach Ross Russell and former Dundee United and 2006 T&T World Cup attacker Collin Samuel as assistant coach, Stars will have the next two weeks to prepare for their next game against leaders Defence Force when action resumes on the weekend of February 12-14, while W Connection faces Jabloteh.
Digicel Pro League 2015/16
Full Round Two Match Day Six results:
Club Sando 1 (Devon Modeste 65th) vs Morvant Caledonia United 0
Central FC 3 (Marcus Joseph 52nd, Darren Mitchell 55th, Own Goal 67th) vs Police FC 0
Pt Fortin Civic 0 vs Defence Force 0
Jabloteh 3 (Sean Bonval 6’, Jamal Gay 15’, Adrian Reid 39' penalty) vs St Ann’s Rangers 2 (Keron Cornwall 48', Kadeem Hutchinson 63')
W Connection 7 (Jomal Williams 14’, 65’, Dimitrie Apai 18’, Shannon Gomez 31’, 45’+2, Andre Tooussaint 37’, Aikim Andrews 67’) vs North East Stars ; at Larry Gomes Stadium
Latest T&T Pro League standings
Teams P W D L F A Pts
Defence Force 15 9 5 1 40 8 32
Central FC 15 9 4 2 36 11 31
W Connection 15 8 5 2 38 13 29
Jabloteh 15 7 2 6 26 25 23
N/East Stars 15 6 4 5 19 29 22
Police FC 15 6 3 6 34 33 21
Club Sando 15 5 2 8 15 25 17
Morvant Caledonia 15 4 1 10 14 36 13
Pt Fortin Civic 15 3 3 9 14 35 12
St Ann’s Rangers 15 2 3 10 13 34 9