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DIRECTV W Connection took a point from Honduras Progreso in CONCACAF Champions League action last night with a 1-1 draw at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva. But there was certainly no feeling of progress for the “Savonetta Boys” who were chasing three points and should have easily taken them.
In the opening 45 minutes, Connection cut through a full strength Progreso outfit like a hot knife through butter and could easily have had more than Malik St Prix’s stylish item to show for it.
But a negative halftime change by Connection coach Stuart Charles-Fevrier and a dodgy penalty gifted the Central American team a barely deserved equaliser as neither outfit could manage a decisive goal.
Connection and Progreso played to a 1-1 draw.
(Courtesy Chevaughn Christopher/Wired868)
At the final whistle, players from either side slumped to the ground. Group leaders UNAM need only one point from their remaining two matches to advance now and there is little chance of the Mexican team slipping up.
“All in all for me, it is a disappointing result,” said Fevrier. “This has been haunting me for years. We always seem to self-destruct…
“I don’t know if it is mental or if we need to play at the CONCACAF level more often.”
It might not have been all the fault of the Connection players, though.
The hosts were bossing the game when Fevrier decided for a more cautious approach with 45 minutes remaining. Off went striker Shackiel Henry and in went an additional central defender, Maurice Ford.
And, within three minutes, Progreso pulled level and, try as they might, the hosts could not get a second go-ahead item. It was disappointing finish to an affair that seemed to offer so much for the Pro League team.
Fevrier, in fact, had been daring at kick off.
Connection and Progreso played to a 1-1 draw.
(Courtesy Chevaughn Christopher/Wired868)
St Prix, a 21-year-old St Lucian attacker, started in the “number 10 role” ahead of veteran Andre Toussaint with Henry on top and the speedy duo of Neil Benjamin Jr and Dimitrie Apai.
And it was immediately evident that Progreso, who started with eight players from their starting team over the weekend, were in trouble.
Goalkeeper Woodrow West had already made a handful of saves and saw the ball whistle across his penalty area from either flank before, in the 32nd minute, Connection got a deserved opener.
Apai cut in from the left flank and cleverly backheeled a ball into St Prix’s path on the edge of the opposing area. And the lanky attacker steered into the far corner with a controlled side footed finish.
St Prix almost had a double within seconds but West dived to his right to push his low attempt for a corner. While, in the 34th minute, West pulled off a sharp save to his left to keep out an angled Henry strike.
“We started quite well,” said Fevrier. “We were dominating play territorially and we created some good situations.”
Connection and Progreso played to a 1-1 draw.
(Courtesy Chevaughn Christopher/Wired868)
So, the Connection coach responded by withdrawing a striker and sending on an additional defender.
“It was a tactical move,” said Fevrier. “I thought in the first half our middle was [too] exposed. So I brought [on] Maurice to play as a holding midfielder.”
It is one of the maddening things about football. Fevrier had correctly assessed his team’s one weakness in the first half.
Connection captain Hughtun Hector was in a class of his own, as he created opportunities at will for his teammates. But, on the occasions that Hector was caught out high up the field, St Prix did not cover for him or put pressure on the ball and their sole remaining central midfielder, Briel Thomas, was exposed on occasion.
The problem was that Fevrier attempt to fix one hiccup had the simultaneous effect of dismantling what was working so gloriously.
Progreso coach Hector Castellon spotted Connection’s dwindling offensive aspirations and made the opposite change, as left wing back Carlos Sanchez was sacrificed for orthodox wide midfielder, Franklyn Morales. And, to really rub it in, Morales effectively changed the game with his first touch—although American referee Baldomero Toledo certainly played his part.
Connection and Progreso played to a 1-1 draw.
(Courtesy Chevaughn Christopher/Wired868)
With the Connection backline sitting deep, Morales ran on to a diagonal ball in the opposing area and got there before Connection central defender Daneil Cyrus.
The contact seemed minimal but Toledo pointed to the spot and striker Angel Tejeda, easily Progreso’s best player, calmly converted the equaliser.
Things might have gotten worse for Connection and Ford in particular, as the central defender somehow let a regulation cross get past him in the 61st minute. Somehow, a combination of goalkeeper Julani Archibald, Hector and Ford himself managed to thwart two efforts from Morales and one from Tejada from the edge of the six yard box.
Connection did create two decent second half efforts, as Thomas blasted over from the edge of the area while Toussaint screwed an effort wide after a raking cross from left back Kurt Frederick.
Toussaint, incidentally, came on to replace Cyrus, as Fevrier tried to reverse his tactical alteration. But Connection could not regain control and were fortunate that a late Tejada blast came off the post while Archibald managed another flying block to keep out Fredixon Elvir.
Connection and Progreso played to a 1-1 draw.
(Courtesy Chevaughn Christopher/Wired868)
“The Mexican team was a lot more professional,” said Fevrier, with a rueful shake of his head, “but I cannot say the Honduran team was better than us.”
For his part, Castellon said he could live with the result, even though it effectively eliminated the Hondurans as well.
Progreso, he explained through a translator, was a small team that has been around for just two and a half years. Connection was part of their learning curve.
“We tried to get a better result but we couldn’t do it,” said Castellon.
Only the UNAM outfit would have smiled at last night’s result. Not that the powerful Mexican team needed much help in this group anyway.
(Teams)
W Connection (4-2-1-3): 18.Julani Archibald (GK); 16.Alvin Jones, 25.Daneil Cyrus (14.Andre Toussaint 73), 27.Jelani Peters, 2.Kurt Frederick; 8.Briel Thomas, 13.Hughtun Hector (captain); 43.Malik St Prix; 11.Neil Benjamin Jr (17.Aikim Andrews 73), 9.Shackiel Henry (4.Maurice Ford 46), 10.Dimitrie Apai,
Unused substitutes: 1.Terrence Lewis (GK), 20.Jamal Charles, 23.Kevon Goddard, 35.Jesus Perez.
Coach: Stuart Charles-Fevrier
Honduras Progreso (3-5-2): 27.Woodrow West (GK); 17.Dilmer Gutierrez, 22.Nixon Duarte, 21.Roy Smith; 1.Pastor Martinez (7.Luis Alvarado 12), 23.Pedro Mencia (12.Mariano Acevedo 65), 6.Juan Delgado (captain), 20.Leonardo Isaula, 31.Carlos Sanchez (15.Franklyn Morales 48); 11.Fredixon Elvir, 13.Angel Tejeda.
Unused substitutes: 29.Kelvin Castillo (GK); 2.Johny Rivera, 9.Darwin Bermudez, 10.Victor Moncado.
Coach: Hector Castellon
Referee: Baldomero Toledo (USA)
Man of the Match: Hughtun Hector (W Connection)
(Courtesy Chevaughn Christopher/Wired868)
CONCACAF Champions League
(Thursday 25 August 2016)
W Connection 1 (Malik St Prix 32), Honduras Progreso 1 (Angel Tejada 59 pen) at Couva.
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Lasana Liburd is the managing director and chief editor at Wired868.com and a journalist with over 20 years experience at several Trinidad and Tobago and international publications including Play the Game, World Soccer, UK Guardian and the Trinidad Express.
Story updated with some great pics from Chevaughn Christopher 😉
lmao
Steeuuppss The Proleague teams needs to either get the real crowd support of at least 3000 people per game or as I have been saying many moons ago the league needs to be in the communities eh so that the real crowd supporters will always attend the games, mama, papa, the kids, the goats, the cows, the fowls. etc, etc, and only then these foreign base teams will get plenty licks eh. Them really good yes.
Btw…Jelani Peters going to get a national team call up by year’s end once we get about 3-4 friendlies in…remember that 🙂
I don’t think he was that good last night. But I do like him as a player. And we are short of left side defenders. So hopefully.
Remember we have Triston Hodge to return at some time though.
I’m a big fan of “Brain” as well.
W. Conn. should’ve easily won this game, just as Central FC should’ve last week.
I think most of the players had good performances but they needed those goals.
Shackiel Henry was maybe rushed into the team too soon and maybe Jamal Charles would’ve been a better forward option once he wasn’t injured or anything.
When a two and a half year old Honduran club draws with a pro league club that’s been around for almost two decades and people wanna keep saying the millions of taxpayers dollars being pumped into the pro league is money well spent…
A four year old team has won the league and d Caribbean title for d last two years and ur point is!! U normally make great logical arguments unlike a number of famous contributors keep up ur standard!!
My point is the Caribbean standard is too low and the current domestic model isn’t getting us where we need to be.
Ok Madame! Note tho d EPL was won by a team that does not have a fraction of d resources of the ‘Big teams’ and that is d richest league in d world but i hear u
And if for almost 20 years, “small” teams are the ones winning every year, you will see the “big” teams make changes….
https://www.facebook.com/concacafcom/videos/1202737579768526/
Cyrus hasn’t been at his best for a while now I think.
Yeah. I’m not sure what the problem is there. But maybe he should start playing at right back for club too.
Yeah but then where do you put Alvin.
Alvin is a central defender. That’s the irony. Alvin prefers to play at centre back and he has potential there too. But Cyrus also prefers to play there.
Stuart’s call.
hmm don’t think I have seen Alvin much in that CB role
He played a couple times there last season. Until Cyrus came back.
When Shannon Gomez was there, he had an unsuccessful spell in central midfield and then a decent run as a central defender.
I remember the stint in central midfield
I miss those “lets go Alvin” chants from his mid-field days ha
Hart has to be really happy with Hughtun Hector though. Although Cyrus wasn’t really at his best.
A win for Connection would have been really positive for the Pro League. And nobody could say they were playing a second string team… And then they just let it slip in the second half. Smh.
I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Connection started such a young, attacking quartet. But I think that half time decision to insert Ford shocked me even more :/. Connection really had to get this one.
What quartet would you have started bro ?
What would you have done @ half-time ?
I didn’t see the game eh Kirwin so I can’t say what adjustments I would have made. But I liked the starting quartet. Benjamin Jr started the first game on the bench and I was really shocked by that as I think he’s their most penetrative player.