First Citizens Cup Heats Up

Central FC will be looking to take one more step towards retaining their First Citizens Cup title tomorrow when they do battle with Police FC in the first of two semi-finals at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva. 'The Sharks' have not lost since their Charity Shield defeat to rivals W Connection in this season's curtain raiser and have looked very good since. They overcame a feisty Point Fortin Civic team to win their quarter-final match which went all the way to penalty kicks. 'The Sharks' would definitely be favorites going into this clash and do not intend to let their title go easily. "We are the defending champions so we want to defend our trophy." Those were the words of Central coach Zoran Vranes at the launch of this season's First Citizens Cup.

Police FC would not provide Central with an easy passage through to the final though as their rough and physical style of play could well hamper the smooth and slick passing of Central. They have looked fairly well organized in the two games I've seen them play so far this season. However I think their problems in this game could well come in the attacking third as they do tend to waste their chances. The man who could well be charged with the responsibility of getting the crucial goals is striker Jameel Perry. The lanky Perry does pose a threat when on the pitch but he is not clinical enough in front of goal. He could be hazardous for Central tomorrow though, especially if he is able to get 'midfielder turn defender' Marvin Oliver running towards his own goal. Oliver, who is nearing 40 has been deployed in a centre-back role so far this season and has never really been the quickest of players.

                                            
                      Police FC's Todd Ryan showing that he is ready for a penalty shootout vs Central 

The second semi-final which is to be contested by North East Stars and San Juan Jabloteh promises to be the tighter of the two games. Both teams would be high on confidence having already beaten reigning Pro League Champs W Connection this season. Jabloteh dismissed Connection from the First Citizens Cup last week with a two-nil win while The Stars edged Connection 1-0 in their Pro league meeting on Tuesday. Apart from this common feat both teams are quite physical and the players are not afraid to put the tackle in.

Jamaican forward Andell Noray lines up a free-kick vs Defence Force in their First Citizen Cup qualifier.

Jabloteh will definitely be looking to its new Caribbean imports to get the job done for them once more. The Jamaican trio of Newton Sterling, Andell Noray and Adrian Reid have accounted for Jabloteh's goals so far in this Cup while custodian Shane Mattis was the hero in a penalty shootout victory over Defence Force. The height and power of attackers Sterling and Noray is definitely not something to be laughed at and former Jabloteh standout Angus Eve would know that his North East Stars team would not have it easy tomorrow evening. Eve would be hoping for his midfield enforcer Jeromie 'Butters' Williams to be at his rugged best and he will also welcome some more goals from his in-form forward Tyrone Charles who has scored in his team's last two outings.


First Citizens Cup Semi-finals (Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva)
Central FC vs Police FC 6 p.m.
North East Stars vs San Juan Jabloteh 8:15 p.m.