Central FC cruised to a 5-0 victory over San Juan Jabloteh when Digicel T&T Pro League action continued on Wednesday night, slicing a six-point lead by Defence Force in half at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Balmain, Couva.
The win pushed the 'Sharks' into second position with 28 points, two points ahead of third W Connection (26). North East Stars are fourth on 22 points while Police are fifth on 21.
Now facing a period of transition following the sacking of veteran midfielder Marvin Oliver, Central FC got the start they were hoping for when Darren Mitchell fired them into the lead with less than a minute gone on the clock and despite a desperate fightback by the San Juan men, they could not stop Marcus Joseph (25th), Nathaniel Garcia (66th), Ataulla Guerra (73rd) and Sean De Silva (75th) from adding to the scoresheet.
Central are now unbeaten in seven matches under new coach Dale Saunders while Jabloteh have now moved to sixth with 20 points. W Connection held on to third with a 2-1 win over bottom-of-the table St Ann's Rangers on Wednesday at the Larry Gomes Stadium.
For W Connection, it was a crucial strike for prolific forward Jomal Williams in the 27th minute which gave his team the advantage.Later Triston Hodge sealed the win with his goal in the 52nd minute, although Rangers pulled a goal back in the 65th minute from Trevin Latapy.
The goal was Williams' eighth of the season and 13th in all competitions to date, after he was fed by Andre Toussaint inside the area.He scored a hat-trick against the St Ann's team when the teams last met last year. The second goal came from a build up that started with Williams.
The 21-year-old Connection star was served a long ball on the left and he picked out Hodge who met it on the head to beat Rangers' custodian Christopher Biggette.Moments later, Connection goalkeeper Terrence Lewis was forced to make an excellent save to keep out Sayid Freitas' fierce low drive from a free kick.
However, Lewis could do nothing when Latapy quickly pounced on a rebound from Kadeem Hutchinson's attempt, and blasted the ball past him to give his team hope.
Later, Rangers thought they should have had the opportunity to equalise when the ball appeared to have bounced awkwardly on to the hand of a Connection defender, but their shouts of penalty were ignored.In Wednesday's other result, Morvant Caledonia United continued their rise with a 3-1 win over 10-man North East Stars.
Midfielder Akim Andrews put Caledonia ahead in the first minute before Jomoul Francois equalised in the 19th. Caledonia captain Kareem Joseph made it 2-1 on 25 minutes.
North East were reduced to 10 men in the 73rd minute when striker Gorean "Ratty" Highley was issued a red card by referee Crystal Sobers for violent conduct.Caledonia capitalised on their advantage in numbers by completing the win eight minutes from time when Pernell Schultz converted a penalty after a handled ball.
Action continues today with Caledonia facing Club Sando in the opening game of a double header from 6 pm at the Ato Boldon Stadium after which Central FC and Police will square-off in the other at 8pm.Point Fortin Civic will play leaders Defence Force from 6pm at the Mahaica Oval.