National Team striker Devorn Jorsling came up big once again as he scored an 81st minute winner to help Caledonia AIA of Morvant-Laventille win the 2012 Trinidad & Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) FA Trophy Final with a 1-0 score over Defence Force on Sunday at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium.
It was the second FA Trophy win in four years for the Jamaal Shabazz coached Caledonia after having beaten W Connection 3-2 in the 2008 final.
It’s proving a very fruitful season for the Morvant/Laventille club which won the First Citizens Cup last October, and also earned a pound of gold worth $100,000 by winning the Kashif & Shangai tournament in Guyana during the Christmas break.
Caledonia’s success this season could also see club finish second in the Digicel Pro League Championship, a follow-up to last season, or even take the title based on other results. The club has also qualified to represent Trinidad and Tobago along with W Connection in this season’s Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship.
As for Jorsling, the former soldier will never be forgotten for leading Defence Force to the 2010-11 Digicel Pro League title, where he finished top-scorer. Jorsling was later released by the Army to take up a contract in United Soccer League with Orlando City also helping that club to success.
He returned home and joined his hometown club Caledonia during the December transfer window and have since then been a nightmare to other clubs, even his former Defence Force teammates, with already eight League goals to his name. (March 25th, 2012)
Shabazz dedicates FA Win to Morvant/Laventille
JAMAAL SHABAZZ, coach of 2011-2012 Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) FA Trophy winners Caledonia AIA, has dedicated the team’s 1-0 victory over Defence Force, in Sunday’s final at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella, to the communities of Morvant and Laventille.
In an interview with the Newsday, Shabazz commented, “given all the negatives in the communities, in Morvant/Laventille, in the last few years, it was a big achievement to the team on behalf of the people of Morvant/Laventille.”
Devorn Jorsling scored the winner in the 81st minute to earn Caledonia’s second FA Trophy, following their success in 2008.
Asked what he will attribute to the team’s title conquest, Shabazz, who also serves as coach of the Guyana football team, responded, “I think our guys worked very hard in the pre-season.”
He continued, “the players and the technical staff, we made a serious commitment to achieving success. I think the Sports Company and our sponsors like Neal and Massy, and the Ministry of Sports helped to provide stability in terms of players and staff receiving salaries, which is a big, big plus.”
With regards to the team’s financial stability, Shabazz noted, “we had some scary moments in the early part of the season. Last year, when the funding had stopped from the Sports Company.
“Since it (started) back, it has helped stabilised the situation and it is a big factor in the guys being able to focus on the football, on the field.”
During this month, Caledonia have been without a quintet of players - strikers Jamal Gay and Trevin Caesar, midfielder Micah Lewis, and central defenders Nuru Muhammad and Aquil Selby, who were all involved in the training camp with the Trinidad and Tobago Under-23 team.
Gay, Caesar and Lewis were subsequently named in the national Under-23 team who are currently participating in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifiers.
“It was some anxious moments playing without the Under-23 players,” said Shabazz. “But there were other players who were eager to step up and earn their salaries.
“Kemron Purcell, a defender, was able to step in and earn his keep. We have players like Kareem Joseph, a regular player who plays with much more maturity.
Shabazz added, “Ataullah Guerra and Devorn Jorsling are two players who have delivered as new players coming in to the team. I think these were factors which have (contributed).”
Caledonia, who are in third spot on 35 points, are still with a mathematical chance of overtaking W Connection and TTEC tomorrow and capturing its first Pro League title.
“Mathematics is a big part in life,” he said. “The whole economy in Trinidad and Tobago is based on mathematics. Having a mathematical chance is still a big chance for us. We’ll move with a big hope.”
