Neal & Massy Caledonia AIA maneuvered themselves into a favourable position to clinch a spot in the 2013-2014 CONCACAF Champions League football series after winning the opening leg of a two-match playoff by a 1-0 margin over competitive Jamaican National Premier League champions Portmore United on Monday night at Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain.
A draw in tonight’s return match at the Ato Boldon Stadium (6 p.m.), Couva will be enough to put Caledonia through as the Caribbean’s third qualifier alongside group winners W Connection (T&T) and Valencia (Haiti). Monday’s first leg was a lively affair, which was ultimately settled in the 28th minute when lanky T&T national striker Jamal Gay headed Andre Toussaint’s cross in off the fingertips of former Jamaican national youth goalkeeper Kemar Foster.
The football was lively, as were the two rhythm sections vying for supremacy. There was a great atmosphere at the venue and the football produced on the field was competitive as well. Portmore are a real opponent, aggressive and dangerous. It was generally felt that Caledonia needed more than one goal going into tonight’s second leg. They will again have to be solid in all areas to advance.
“One nil up is a good position for us,” stated Jerry Moe, Caledonia’s head-coach. “But having seen the opponents, we can’t lift our feet off the pedal. If they (Portmore) were playing in the (TT) Pro League, they would be one of the top four teams.”
Caledonia dominated the first half and had the better chances, but seemed to tire in the second session when the Jamaicans had a long period of control. “Cali” stuck to their short-passing standard, but the Morvant-Laventille boys were forced to raise their tempo above the sometimes sedate pace of the local Pro League due to the aggression of the Jamaicans, who contested every pass.
Former Joe Public front man Toussaint proved a good addition to the Caledonia squad and should have added a second goal in the 51st, but turned the ball overbar after the Portmore ‘keeper blocked Gay’s initial shot. Later, Toussaint also had a brief chance when goalie Foster juggled Gay’s cross, but the striker touched the ball wide under pressure at the near post.
A burst of speed saw left midfielder Nathan Lewis bearing down on Portmore’s goal, but Foster was quickly out to block the shot. And Foster also barely kept the ball out after substitute Keyon Edwards got a weak connection to Lewis’ square ball in the final minutes. From free-kicks, both Caledonia right-defender Kareem Young and playmaker Densill Theobald also forced diving saves from the Portmore ‘keeper Foster.
“Last night we saw a compact (Portmore) and they didn’t allow us much room. They have some good athletic players and they had some chances, which they didn’t put away. We also had some scoring chances, apart from the goal, and in one instance I thought (Andre) Toussaint should have scored to double our advantage,” said Moe.
Portmore generally used the long ball to push the locals back in the first half. Portmore shot from any and every angle, particularly strikers Paul Wilson and Sue Lae Mc Calla. The duo deliberately focused on catching out Caledonia’s sometimes erratic goalie Glenroy Samuel, who is almost always off his goal-line. Samuel made an excellent block in the 17th minute to stop Wilson, who met a cross at the back post, and also got back quickly to push Mc Calla’s header over the bar after the Jamaican striker caught him marginally out of goal.
“It was a very hard game for us and we had to dig deep and thank God we got the result we wanted, “ stated Caledonia playmaker Theobald.
“Portmore were more aggressive than our weekly Pro League opponents, but we stuck to the task and hopefully today we (can) finish the job.”