Terminix La Horquetta Rangers and Club Sando captured their respective Under-15 and Under-17 Division T&T Youth Pro League titles in contrasting fashion on the ninth and final match day of league competition on Sunday.
With San Juan Jabloteh already retaining the Under-13 Division for a record fourth straight season, the battle was still wide open for the two remaining age-group crowns, with no fewer than four clubs in the Under-15s and five in the Under-17s still in title contention.
However, Rangers left little doubt that it will claim the Under-15 title with a comfortable 4-1 whipping of Defence Force FC at D'Abadie Recreation Ground, D'Abadie.
Holding a one-point lead over Jabloteh with Police FC and Pt Fortin Civic, a further point back, La Horquetta Rangers got off to the perfect start when Aiden Williams opened the scoring as early as the seventh minute to calm the nerves of his team-mates and technical staff before Keyel James made it 2-0 in the 25th minute which his team took into the half-time interval.
Eight minutes after the restart, the party was well and truly on for Rangers when Nathaniel Jones fired in the first of his double, only for Javion Alexander to pull one back for Defence Force in the 72nd.
But any chances of Defence Force mounting a late comeback was quickly halted when Jones got his second and the team's fourth in the 78th minute to seal the victory and push his team to an unassailable 21 points.
Elsewhere, Jabloteh's (18 points) challenge ended with a goalless draw away to Club Sando at Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella to slip to the fourth spot, after Pt Fortin Civic and Police Fc, both won, 1-0 and 5-0 over Morvant Caledonia United and North East Stars, respectively.
In the Under-17 Division, Club Sando (19 points) also entered the final day with a one-point advantage over Police FC and Pt Fortin Civic, while W Connection and Central FC were next with 16 points apiece.
The Lawmen looked set to snatch the title on the final day after goals from Matthias Hinkson (14th) and Jerbari Johnston (56th) ensured a slim 2-1 lead over North East Stars at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo as Club Sando was locked 0-0 with Jabloteh, while Pt Fortin Civic and Morvant Caledonia United were also goalless at that stage.
However, there were three late twists which changed the title course with Zachary Welch drawing Stars level with Police in the 83rd, only for Daniel Warner to snatch a late winner for Police, three minutes later to move to 21 points.
However, ironically, a minute later at the Marabella venue, Darius Douglas sparked off wild celebrations when he fired in the eventual match winner and title clincher for Club Sando, its first-ever league title at all levels since joining the Pro League in 2015 after ending with 22 points.
The title win is a follow-up of last season’s Youth Pro League Cup success in the Under-16 division when they defeated Jabloteh in that title match.
Speaking on Club Sando's achievement former national captain, Angus Eve said he felt his players had a very good season.
He added, "It was a difficult season to manage as most of the guys are at the age level where they are writing exams and we had to limit our training sessions to only twice per week."
Going forward, Eve, a member of T&T's first ever World Cup team at any level at the 1991 Portugal FIFA Under-20 World Cup said he hopes the administrative side of things could be done better by some clubs so as to not disadvantage others.
"I was a little bit disappointed in that while most of the clubs were able to play all nine matches, Pt Fortin Civic was able to secure six points without taking the field, against North East Stars and Defence Force, with both clubs being tardy in their registration."
Eve also saluted club chairman, Eddie Dean, whom he described as having the nation's youth at heart.
"Our core of players is made up from schools in the North, East and South Trinidad as Dean sees us as not just developing players for our club team, but for the national teams, as well as having them become successful student-athletes at universities abroad."
Final standings
Under-13 Division
Teams*P*W*D*L*F*A*Pts
1. Jabloteh*9*8*1*0*35*5*25
2. Central FC*9*5*3*1*23*14*18
3. W Connection*9*5*2*2*22*12*17
4. North East Stars*9*4*3*2*16*11*15
5. Morvant Caledonia*9*3*3*3*21*20*12
6. Club Sando*9*3*3*3*12*18*12
7. La Horquetta Rangers*9*2*3*4*13*21*9
8. Pt Fortin Civic*9*2*2*5*11*17*8
9. Police FC*9*2*1*6*18*32*7
10. Defence Force *9*0*1*8*9*30*1
Under-15 Division
1. La Horquetta Rangers*9*7*0*2*18*12*21
2. Police FC*9*6*1*2*26*7*19
3. Pt Fortin Civic*9*6*1*2*14*6*19
4. Jabloteh*9*5*3*1*15*7*18
5. Morvant Caledonia*9*4*1*4*12*11*13
6. Club Sando*9*3*3*3*19*12*12
7. Central FC *9*3*2*4*13*14*11
8. W Connection*9*3*1*5*13*16*10
9. North East Stars*9*1*1*7*5*28*4
10. Defence Force*9*0*1*8*4*26*1
Under-17 Division:
1. Club Sando*9*7*1*1*17*4*22
2. Police FC*9*7*0*2*22*8*21
3. W Conection*9*6*1*2*21*7*19
4. Pt Fortin Civic*9*6*1*2*19*11*19
5. Central FC*9*5*1*3*14*13*16
6. Morvant Caledonia*9*3*3*3*11*11*12
7. Jabloteh*9*2*3*4*16*14*9
8. La Horquetta Rangers*9*2*1*6*8*25*7
9. North East Stars*9*1*1*7*7*24*4
10. Defence Force*9*0*0*9*4*24*0