Trinidad and Tobago Premier Football League (TTPFL) runner-up Club Sando and Haiti’s Violette will lock horns for top spot in Group B of the Concacaf Caribbean Cup at the Estadio Cibao FC in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, on Tuesday (September 15) from 7 pm.
Both teams are already through to the semifinals, with Violette sitting in the five-team round-robin table with a maximum of nine points from three wins, while Club Sando, under the guidance of coach Angus Eve, have seven points and will go into the match against the Haitians needing all three points for top spot.
Tonight’s encounter will also be the first away from home for Eve and his players, as their three previous matches were all played at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo, Port-of-Spain.
In those three matches, Club Sando defeated Suriname champions SV Broki 2-1, and reigning TTPFL champions Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force, while they dropped their first points in a 0-0 draw with Dominican Republic’s Delfines Del Este.
Ahead of the encounter, coach Angus Eve noted that his squad remains confident despite the step up in competition away from home.
"Well, we've been doing well in the tournament. As you know, this is our first time actually competing in this phase of the tournament. So we're very optimistic of our chances. We know the opposition, they have a lot of pedigree, but we feel very positive about our chances in the match tomorrow," Eve said.
"We're the only second-place team in this group, basically. Everybody we've played was the champions of their respective countries. So we expect a very tough match. We're playing against really good opposition. They have very good players, they're very technically sound. So we want to go out there and try to match them, their intensity levels and the tactical levels and stuff like that, so we can hopefully get the result that we desire."
Club Sando captain Shervohnez Hamilton also expressed belief in the squad's readiness for the decisive fixture.
"I think we always have good vibes in the team, good passion, good energy. So going into the game, we would go with our confidence and get our victory," Hamilton said.
"I feel great, confident, excited to lead the guys in a top-of-the-table clash for the first time in club history. So we'll go out there tomorrow (Tuesday) and do what we was taught to do."
In the other match in Group B tonight, last year’s third-place finishers, T&T Defence Force, face Delfines del Este FC at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) Stadium in Santiago De Los Caballeros, Dominican Republic.
In Group A on Thursday (September 17), Jamaican clubs, title-holders Mount Pleasant Football Academy, Portmore United and Cavalier FC will all be in the hunt for the two qualification spots from their round-robin series.
The Dominican Republic’s Salcedo FC is the current leader of the Group A table with five points from their four matches, closely followed by their domestic rival Cibao FC with five points, Mount Pleasant with four, Portmore United with three, and Cavalier FC, a further point behind.
In the final round of matches, Cibao FC host Portmore United while Mount Pleasant and Cavalier clash in Kingston.
At the end of the round-robin group stages, the top two teams in each pool will advance to the semifinals.
In addition to the regional crown, the Caribbean Cup offers a pathway to the 2027 edition of the region’s premier men’s club competition, the Concacaf Champions Cup.
The tournament champion, runner-up, and third-place finisher (a total of three clubs) will qualify for the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup, with the champion receiving a bye to the round-of-16.
Latest Concacaf Caribbean Cup standings
Group A
Team P W D L F A Pts
Violette AC 3 2 0 0 6 1 9
Club Sando 3 2 0 1 4 0 7
Defence Force 3 1 0 2 2 6 3
Delfines Del Este 3 0 2 1 0 1 2
SV Broki 4 0 1 3 3 6 1
Group B
Salcedo 4 1 3 0 4 3 6
Cibao 3 1 2 0 3 2 5
Mount Pleasant 3 1 1 1 3 3 4
Portmore Utd 3 1 0 2 3 3 3
Cavalier 3 0 2 1 0 2 2
