2012–13 TT Pro League

TT Pro League
Season2012–13
ChampionsDefence Force
3rd Pro League title
22nd T&T title
CFU Club ChampionshipDefence Force
Caledonia AIA
Matches played84
Goals scored273 (3.25 per match)
Top goalscorerDevorn Jorsling (21 goals)
Biggest home winDefence Force 8–0 Rangers (4 January 2013)
Biggest away winT&TEC 0–7 W Connection (10 November 2012)
Highest scoringDefence Force 8–0 Rangers (4 January 2013)

The 2012–13 TT Pro League season (known as the Digicel Pro League for sponsorship reasons) was the fourteenth season of the TT Pro League, the Trinidad and Tobago professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1999. A total of eight teams contested the league, with W Connection the defending champions.[1] The season began on 14 September 2012 and ended on 10 May 2013 with the crowning of Defence Force as the league champion.

Speaking on the number of clubs in the Pro League prior to the start of the season, CEO Dexter Skeene stated in an interview that he feels the country's best footballing interests are served by an eight-team league.[2] On 30 June 2012, San Juan Jabloteh announced that due to financial constraints the club suspended their football operations. As a result, the four-time Pro League champion, San Juan Kings, did not participate for the first time in the league's history.[3] In response, a new club established by Brent Sancho to represent the Central region of the country, Central FC, was formed and officially applied for Pro League membership on 25 July 2012.[4] The club is officially based in California and plays its home games in Ato Boldon Stadium. Central was admitted into the league on 6 September 2012 and became the 21st team to compete in the Pro League.[5]

The first goal of the season was scored by two-time Golden Boot winner Devorn Jorsling of Defence Force against St. Ann's Rangers in the thirty-second minute of the first game on 14 September 2012.[6] Bevon Bass of T&TEC scored the first hat-trick of the season as the Electricity Boys defeated St. Ann's Rangers 3–2 on 20 October 2012.[7] Jorsling went on to claim an unprecedented third Golden Boot award after leading the league with 21 goals scored for Defence Force.

On 6 May 2013, Defence Force secured the TT Pro League championship following a Caledonia AIA 2–1 loss to Central FC in Couva. The league title was the Teteron Boys' second in three seasons and marked their third Pro League title overall.[8] Consequently, Defence Force and Caledonia AIA, having finished as runners-up, earned places within the 2014 CFU Club Championship.[9] Following the season, T&TEC withdrew from the league citing financial struggles to field a professional football club.[10] The Electricity Boys became the seventh team to leave the league in the previous four years.

Changes from the 2011–12 season

The following changes were made since the 2011–12 season:

  • A new competition was introduced to open the Pro League season. The Charity Shield will contest the defending league champions and the winner of the previous year's Pro Bowl.
    • If the league champion also wins the Pro Bowl competition, then the Charity Shield will be contested by the top two teams in the previous league season.[11]
  • Clubs have the option to postpone their scheduled match if the club stands without three or more players on international duty.[12]
  • There were a number of changes to the clubs competing in the 2012–13 season.
    • San Juan Jabloteh suspended their football club operations and withdrew from the league.[3]
    • After ending its two-year sponsorship with North East Stars, DirecTV and W Connection agreed to an undisclosed deal on 13 July 2012 to sponsor the Couva-based club.[13]
    • Central FC, a new club based in the Central region of the country, officially applied for membership into the league on 25 July 2012.[4]

Teams

Team summaries

class=notpageimage|
Location of the 2012–13 TT Pro League teams

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team Location Stadium Capacity Manager Captain
Caledonia AIA Morvant/Laventille Larry Gomes Stadium 10,000 Trinidad and Tobago Jerry Moe Trinidad and Tobago Stephan David
Central FC California Ato Boldon Stadium 10,000 England Terry Fenwick Trinidad and Tobago Marvin Phillip
Defence Force Chaguaramas Hasely Crawford Stadium 27,000 Trinidad and Tobago Ross Russell Trinidad and Tobago Corey Rivers
North East Stars Sangre Grande Sangre Grande Ground 7,000 Trinidad and Tobago Angus Eve Trinidad and Tobago Cleon John
Police Saint James Hasely Crawford Stadium 27,000 Trinidad and Tobago Richard Hood Trinidad and Tobago Todd Ryan
St. Ann's Rangers San Juan Hasely Crawford Stadium 27,000 Trinidad and Tobago Dean Pacheco Trinidad and Tobago Devon Modeste
T&TEC San Fernando Manny Ramjohn Stadium 10,000 Trinidad and Tobago Dexter Cyrus Trinidad and Tobago Sylvester Teesdale
W Connection Point Lisas Manny Ramjohn Stadium 10,000 Saint Lucia Stuart Charles-Fevrier Saint Lucia Elijah Joseph

Player transfers

Further information: List of Trinidadian football transfers 2012–13

Managerial changes

Main article: List of TT Pro League managers
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Table Incoming manager Date of appointment Table
Central FC Expansion team England Graham Rix 13 August 2012[14] Pre-season
Police Trinidad and Tobago Kelvin Jones Sacked 29 August 2012
6th (2011–12)
 Trinidad and Tobago Richard Hood 29 August 2012[15] Pre-season
T&TEC Trinidad and Tobago Dexter Cyrus Sacked 11 September 2012
2nd (2011–12)
 Trinidad and Tobago Jefferson George 11 September 2012[16] Pre-season
T&TEC Trinidad and Tobago Jefferson George Resigned 10 November 2012
8th
 Trinidad and Tobago Dexter Cyrus 22 November 2012[17]
8th
Caledonia AIA Trinidad and Tobago Jamaal Shabazz Signed by Trinidad and Tobago 27 November 2012[18]
1st
 Trinidad and Tobago Jerry Moe 27 November 2012
1st
Central FC England Graham Rix Mutual consent 21 December 2012[19]
6th
 England Terry Fenwick 3 January 2013[20]
6th
St. Ann's Rangers Trinidad and Tobago Dean Pacheco End of contract 30 June 2013
7th
 Trinidad and Tobago Gilbert Bateau 1 July 2013[21] Post-season

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Defence Force (C) 21 14 4 3 52 21 +31 46 2014 CFU Club Championship First round
2 Caledonia AIA 21 13 3 5 53 27 +26 42
3 W Connection 21 11 5 5 45 19 +26 38
4 North East Stars 21 10 8 3 32 17 +15 38
5 Central FC 21 8 6 7 31 32 −1 30
6 Police 21 3 7 11 25 43 −18 16
7 St. Ann's Rangers 21 2 7 12 22 49 −27 13
8 T&TEC 21 2 2 17 13 65 −52 8 Team disbanded after season[a]
Updated to match(es) played on 10 May 2013. Source: TT Pro League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ T&TEC withdrew from the league citing financial struggles to cease its football operations prior to the 2013–14 season.

Positions by round

Leader
2014 CFU Club Championship First round
Team disbanded after season

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for the tenth round of matches, but then postponed and played between rounds 16 and 17, it will be added to the standings for round 16.

Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021
Defence Force336322211111111111111
Caledonia AIA775211122222222222222
W Connection543134333334333434333
North East Stars122443444443444343444
Central FC411555565555555555555
Police254676656666666666666
St. Ann's Rangers688767777777777777777
T&TEC867888888888888888888
Updated to match(es) played on 10 May 2013. Source: TT Pro League

Results

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

See also: Top TT Pro League goal scorers by season
Rank Player Club Goals[27]
1 Trinidad and Tobago Devorn Jorsling Defence Force
21
2 Trinidad and Tobago Cornell Glen North East Stars
16
3 Trinidad and Tobago Kevon Carter Defence Force
10
Trinidad and Tobago Joevin Jones W Connection
10
5 Trinidad and Tobago Devon Modeste St. Ann's Rangers
9
6 Antigua and Barbuda Peter Byers Central FC
8
7 Trinidad and Tobago Josimar Belgrave Defence Force
7
Trinidad and Tobago Keyon Edwards Caledonia AIA
7
Trinidad and Tobago Kareem Joseph Caledonia AIA
7
Trinidad and Tobago Andrei Pacheco W Connection
7
Trinidad and Tobago Shahdon Winchester W Connection
7

Hat-tricks

Main article: List of TT Pro League hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date Ref(s)
Trinidad and Tobago Bevon Bass T&TEC* St. Ann's Rangers 3–2 20 October 2012
[7]
Trinidad and Tobago Josimar Belgrave Defence Force* North East Stars 3–3 20 October 2012
[28]
Trinidad and Tobago Ataullah Guerra Caledonia AIA T&TEC* 0–6 3 November 2012
[29]
Trinidad and Tobago Keyon Edwards Caledonia AIA Police* 1–5 9 November 2012
[30]
Trinidad and Tobago Kevon Carter Defence Force* St. Ann's Rangers 8–0 4 January 2013
[25]
Trinidad and Tobago Shahdon Winchester W Connection Central FC* 0–3 5 January 2013
[31]
Trinidad and Tobago Cornell Glen North East Stars* T&TEC 3–1 15 February 2013
[32]
Trinidad and Tobago Joevin Jones W Connection Police* 2–5 22 February 2013
[33]
Trinidad and Tobago Marvin Lee St. Ann's Rangers Police* 3–3 27 February 2013
[34]
Antigua and Barbuda Peter Byers4 Central FC* T&TEC 5–0 16 March 2013
[24]
Trinidad and Tobago Devorn Jorsling Defence Force* Central FC 3–0 5 April 2013
[35]
Trinidad and Tobago Neil Benjamin W Connection* Defence Force 4–0 6 May 2013
[26]
Trinidad and Tobago Andrei Pacheco W Connection Police* 0–5 10 May 2013
[36]
  • * Home team score first in result
  • 4 Player scored four goals

Discipline

Awards

Monthly awards

Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month Ref(s)
Player Club Manager Club
September/October Trinidad and Tobago Jerry Moe Caledonia AIA Trinidad and Tobago Devorn Jorsling Defence Force [40]

References

  1. ^ "Trinidad and Tobago - List of Champions". Radek Jelínekm, Hans Schöggl and RSSSF. 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  2. ^ "Pro League given grounds for optimism". Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com). 2012-08-23. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
  3. ^ a b "Financially starved Jabloteh pulls out of League". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 2012-07-03. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-07-03.
  4. ^ a b "Sancho launches Central FC". Central FC Media. 2012-07-25. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  5. ^ a b "Central FC joins Pro League; Jabloteh misses out". Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com). 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  6. ^ a b c "Sam sizzler fails to thwart Army's "Ro-Jo" combination". Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com). 2012-09-14. Retrieved 2012-09-14.
  7. ^ a b c "Bass reconnects T&TEC with hattrick against Rangers". Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com). 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  8. ^ "Defence Force finally celebrates winning the 2012-2013 Digicel Pro League title". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 2013-05-11. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  9. ^ "CFU pots Connection, Caledonia for CONCACAF Champions' League qualifiers; Caribbean Club Champions Cup to be revisited next year". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 25 April 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  10. ^ Vinode Mancham (13 May 2012). "T&TEC pulls plug on cricket, football teams". Trinidad Guardian. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  11. ^ "Charity Shield to kick off Pro League". T&T Express Staff. 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  12. ^ "Army, Connection chase lead in Digicel Pro League". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 2012-12-14. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  13. ^ "DIRECTV partners with W Connection". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 2012-07-14. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
  14. ^ "Central FC unveils head coach Graham Rix". Central FC Media. 2012-08-15. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  15. ^ "Hood takes over as Police coach". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 2012-08-29. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  16. ^ "George installed as T&TEC Head Coach". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 2012-09-11. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  17. ^ "Cyrus to the rescue at T&TEC". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 2012-11-27. Retrieved 2012-11-27.
  18. ^ "Shabazz named as joint-Head Coach of Warriors". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 2012-11-29. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  19. ^ "Fenwick is back; ex-Jabloteh coach takes over at Central". Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com). 2013-01-05. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
  20. ^ "Fenwick returns to the top flight, joins Central FC". Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com). 2013-01-05. Archived from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
  21. ^ "Gilbert Bateau takes over from Pacheco as Rangers Head Coach". Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com). 2013-06-03. Retrieved 2013-06-03.
  22. ^ "Champs Defence Force signs off on Pro League in style". Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com). 2013-05-11. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  23. ^ a b c "D/Force hammers Connection 5-1". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 2012-12-22. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  24. ^ a b "Central's Byers routs T&TEC; Stars hold Police". Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com). 2013-03-16. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  25. ^ a b c "Leaders Defence Force crush depleted Rangers 8-0". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 2013-01-05. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
  26. ^ a b "Benjamin trick ruins Defence Force's Digicel Pro League Championship celebrations". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 2013-05-07. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
  27. ^ Inshan Mohammed. "2012/13 Pro League Fixtures". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24.
  28. ^ "Defence Force holds Stars in six-goal thriller". Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com). 2012-10-21. Retrieved 2012-10-21.
  29. ^ "Caledonia clobbers T&TEC to top Pro League". Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com). 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
  30. ^ "Caledonia, D/Force maintain winning ways". Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com). 2012-11-10. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
  31. ^ "Winchester tricks Central; Connection spoils Fenwick's return". Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com). 2013-01-05. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
  32. ^ "Defence Force edges Connection; Glen tricks T&TEC". Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com). 2013-02-15. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  33. ^ "Jones hat-trick heats up League chase". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 2013-02-23. Retrieved 2013-02-23.[permanent dead link‍]
  34. ^ "Lee tricks Lawmen in goal rush". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 2013-02-27. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
  35. ^ a b "Champs-in-waiting: Ten-man Defence Force stuns Central". Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com). 2013-04-05. Retrieved 2013-04-05.
  36. ^ "Connection holds on for 3rd spot; Stars just behind by lesser goal difference". Lasana Liburd (Wire868.com). 2013-05-11. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  37. ^ "Army edge Rangers in League opener". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 2012-09-16. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  38. ^ "Caledonia leaps to the top after trashing T&TEC 6-0". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2012-11-05.
  39. ^ "Stars, Central grab a point each in stalemate". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 2013-03-07. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  40. ^ "Jorsling, Moe grabs respective Digicel Player, Coach of September/October". Randy Bando (TTProLeague.com). 2012-11-19. Retrieved 2012-11-19.