Central FC maintained its 100 percent winning record in a bid for a third straight Digicel T&T Pro League crown when it edged Morvant Caledonia United 2-1 at the Ato Boldon Stadium, on Tuesday night.
With the win, Central FC, which entered the match on the heels of a disappointing exit at the Concacaf Champions League following last week's 4-1 defeat at Sporting Kansas City, improved to 12 points, three more than San Juan Jabloteh while former W Connection is level with St Ann's Rangers with seven points after a 7-0 mauling of Pt Fortin Civic also on Tuesday at Couva.
Despite, a 4-2 loss in its last outing to Jabloteh, Morvant Caledonia matched Central FC for speed early on with both sides being denied by big saves from T&T national team goalkeepers, Marvin Phillip and Jan-Michael Williams on either end.
First Central FC's Williams put behind a Seon Thomas header in the seventh minute to deny Morvant Caledonia and in the 17th minute, Phillip, kept out Marvin Joseph, in a one-on-one showdown.
Joseph was denied again when Morvant Caledonia's Ghanaian defender Maestro Mensah got his leg in the way of the Central forward's goal-bound attempt, but from the resulting corner, Marcano swooped in to meet his corner and fired past Phillip for a 27th minute 1-0 lead
The lively Joseph finally found the back of net in the 38 minutes to put Central FC 2-0 ahead when he exchanges passes with Keron Cummings just outside the 18-yard area before blasting into the far bottom corner of Phillip's net following a clever long pass from defender Andre Ettienne.
However, two minutes from the half-time whistle former Germany 2006 World Cup national team player, Densill Theobald got Morvant Caledonia back into the match when he blasted hoem from close range after the Central Fc defence failed to clear a Jameel Neptune cross
The second half saw Central enjoy the better share of some enterprising plays but no further goals, other than a disallowed Marcano finish, were produced.
In an evenly matched second-half, Williams preserved Central FC's narrow lead by keeping out a Kareem Joseph free-kick while Sheldon Holder muffed the best chance for the "Stallions" as he fired wide from inside the six-yard area in the 72nd minute following a right side move by Akim Armstrong.
Central FC also had chances to widened its advantage with substitute Nathaniel Garica and Marcano both having attempts saved by Phillip.W Connection also rebounded in style from a mid-week thrashing in the Concacaf Champions League, a 8-1 loss away to Mexico's Pumas UNAM, its worst in club history.
For the "Savonetta Boys", winger Neil Benjamin Jr grabbed a hat-trick while Dimitrie Apai, Andre Toussaint, Gerard Williams and Daniel Diaz added one each.
Already trailing 2-0 in the match, Pt Fortin Civic was not helped by the straight red card expulsion of defender Ancil Wells by referee Kevin Smart after he appeared to elbow opposing defender and former clubmate Ronell Paul.
Tomorrow, Central FC and W Connection will return to play against Stars and Defence Force, respectively, in the first of two Round Five double-headers on the weekend at the Mahaica Oval, Pt Fortin.
On Sunday at the same venue, Club Sando faces Morvant Caledonia United and hosts Pt Fortin Civic entertains St Ann's Rangers.
Round five will conclude at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva next Tuesday with Police FC facing Jabloteh.
Full Round Four Digicel Pro League results:
Tuesday October 25:
�2 W Connection 7 (Dimitrie Apai 23rd, Neil Benjamin Jr. 37th, 43rd, 54th, Andre Toussaint 64th, Gerard Williams 82nd pen, Daniel Diaz 88th) vs Pt Fortin Civic 0
�2 Central FC 2 (Jason Marcano 27th, Marcus Joseph 38th) vs Morvant Caledonia United 1 (Densill Theobald 43rd)
Sunday October 23:
�2 San Juan Jabloteh 1 (Jamal Gay 76th) vs Ma Pau Stars 0
Friday October 21:
�2 Club Sando 3 (Keithy Simpson 53rd, Akeem Roach 78th, Akeem Humphrey 85th) vs Defence Force 2 (Hashim Arcia 25th, Sean Narcis 45th)
�2 St Ann's Rangers 2 (Dylon King 32nd, Marvin Lee 90th) vs Police FC 0
Current standings:
Teams P W D L F A Pts
Central FC 4 4 0 0 10 4 12
Jabloteh 4 3 0 1 7 4 9
W Connection 4 2 1 1 12 5 7
St Ann's Rangers 4 2 1 1 5 4 7
Ma Pau Stars 4 2 0 2 6 6 6
Police FC 4 1 2 1 9 7 5
M/C United 4 1 1 2 7 8 4
Club Sando 4 1 0 3 5 7 3
Defence Force 4 1 0 3 5 10 3
Pt Fortin Civic 4 0 1 3 3 14 1