Dominican Republic’s Cibao FC created history when the team became the first club team from its country to lift the Caribbean Football Union Club Championship crown via a 1-0 win over former winner, T&T’s San Juan Jabloteh at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on Sunday night.
The hero for the side from Hispanola, only in their third year of existence and coached by legendary former Barcelona Academy coach, Spain’s Albert Benaiges Sala was defender Richard Madas to seal an automatic spot at next season’s Concacaf Champions League for his club.
Unbeaten in the tournament going into the final, 2003 champion and 2006 runner-up Jabloteh had a chance to take the lead inside the first minute when T&T international winger Nathan Lewis headed tamely at Cibao’s Argentine goalkeeper Juan Pablo Dominguez.
However, Cibao made Jabloteh pay for its early missed effort when Dabas beat Jabloteh goalkeeper Javon Sample in the 31st minute after the T&T Pro League outfit failed to clear a corner from Haitian playmaker Charles Hérold Jr which it took into the half-time break.
Jabloteh also started strong in the second-half and three minutes in, Jamaican midfielder Keithy Simpson had the ball in the back of Dominguez’s net, only to be denied by the off-side flag by second assistant referee Dane Ritchie of the Turks and Caicos, after a brilliant move on the left by Lewis who combined with Vurlon Mills before playing the ball across the area.
Dominguez then pulled off a fine low save to beat away a Jairo Lombardo effort just before the hour mark after Lewis picked out Mills in the area with a cross.
However, finding the equaliser was as elusive as the unicorn, and without a natural forward at their disposal, Jabloteh failed to find a way back against, arguably, their toughest opponents of recent years as Benaiges’ side became the first Dominican Republic outfit to progress past the first round group stage, something Atletico Pantoja and Atlantico failed to achieve last season as the first two teams to participate in the Caribbean Club Championship from that country.
In the day’s earlier match, two-time winner and reigning T&T three-time Pro League champions Central FC had to settle for a fourth-place finish, after a 5-3 penalty-kicks loss to 2005 tournament winner, Jamaica’s Portmore United.
This after both teams battled to a 2-2 draw at the end of regular-time and 30-minute extra-time.
Central took the lead in the fifth minute courtesy an innocuous Jason Marcano strike which looped over Portmore goalkeeper Kemar Foster.
But the Jamaicans fired back twice in the second-half through substitute Maalique Foster (50th) and Cleon Pryce (77th), against some slack defending in the 50th and 77th minutes, respectively, before Keston George levelled for Central Fc, two minutes into time added to force extra-time.
Both teams then failed to find a winner in the 30-minute of extra-time after which Portmore United showed calmer heads in the penalty-kicks shoot-out to take third spot after national midfielder Sean De Silva skied his Central’s first attempt overbar after Portmore scored through Michael Binns past goalkeeper Akel Clarke
The quartet Ewan Grandison, Damion Binns, Jeremie Lynch and Foster all found the back of the net for the Jamaican side, Central continued to trail although Carlos Edwards, George and Lloyd Bannister were clinical from the spot.
The trio of Jabloteh, Portmore and Central FC, who, as the Caribbean’s second, third and fourth-placed teams, respectively, will now compete in the newly formed Concacaf League, which kicks off in August, and includes 13 Central American teams with the winner qualifying to the Concacaf Champions League.
Sunday’s 2017 CFU Club Championship results Final
Cibao FC 1 (Richard Dabas 31st) vs San Juan Jabloteh 0
Third place
Central FC 2 (Jason Marcano 5th, Keston George 92nd) vs Portmore United 2 (Maalique Foster 50th,Cleon Pryce 77th) - Portmore United won 5-3 on penalty kicks