2008 Trinidad and Tobago Pro Bowl
The 2008 Trinidad and Tobago Pro Bowl was the fifth season of the Courts Pro Bowl, which is a knockout tournament competition for teams in the TT Pro League. W Connection entered as the tournament's defending champion.[1] The tournament commenced on 6 May, with 10 teams competing in single elimination matches and concluded on 23 May, with Caledonia AIA defeating Defence Force 2–0 to claim the title.
| Trinidad and Tobago Pro Bowl | |
| Country | Trinidad and Tobago |
|---|---|
| Teams | 10 |
| Defending champions | W Connection (4) |
| Champions | Caledonia AIA |
| Runners-up | Defence Force |
| Matches played | 9 |
| Goals scored | 20 (2.22 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Oscar Torijano (2 goals) |
← 2007 2009 → | |
Qualification
Every club from the TT Pro League automatically qualified for the competition. Seeding was determined by the league standings following the fourth match day of the 2008 season. Teams ranked seventh to tenth were placed directly into the qualifying round which determined the seventh and eight spots in the quarterfinals.
The automatic quarterfinal qualifiers in order of league position were: Caledonia AIA, W Connection, San Juan Jabloteh, United Petrotrin, Joe Public, and Defence Force.
Schedule
The schedule for the 2008 Courts Pro Bowl, as announced by the TT Pro League:
| Round | Date | Matches | Clubs | New entries this round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying round | 6 May 2008 | 2 | 10 → 8 | 4: 7th–10th |
| Quarterfinals | 9 May 2008 | 4 | 8 → 4 | 6: 1st–6th |
| Semifinals | 16 May 2008 | 2 | 4 → 2 | |
| Final | 23 May 2008 | 1 | 2 → 1 |
Bracket
| Qualifying round 6 May 2008 | Quarterfinals 9 May 2008 | Semifinals 16 May 2008 | Final 23 May 2008 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Caledonia AIA | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | St. Ann's Rangers | 3 | 7 | St. Ann's Rangers | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 10 | Tobago United | 1 | 1 | Caledonia AIA | 0 (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | United Petrotrin | 0 (2) | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | United Petrotrin | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Joe Public | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Caledonia AIA | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Defence Force | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | San Juan Jabloteh | 1 (4) | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | North East Stars | 1 | 6 | Defence Force | 1 (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | Ma Pau | 0 | 6 | Defence Force | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | W Connection | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | W Connection | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | North East Stars | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
Results
All matches were played for 90 minutes duration, at the end of which if the match was still tied, penalty-kicks were used to determine the match winner.
Qualifying round
In the qualifying round, St. Ann's Rangers defeated Tobago United 3–1, whereas North East Stars upended Ma Pau 1–0 to advance to the quarterfinals.[2]
| 6 May 2008 | St. Ann's Rangers | 3–1 | Tobago United | Malabar, Trinidad |
| 17:00 (UTC-4) | Thomas  8'Belgrave 44'Clarence 47' |
Report | Hercules 35' |
Stadium: Larry Gomes Stadium |
| 6 May 2008 | North East Stars | 1–0 | Ma Pau | Malabar, Trinidad |
| 19:00 (UTC-4) | Wolfe 65' |
Report | Stadium: Larry Gomes Stadium |
Quarterfinals
Caledonia AIA and W Connection met little resistance from St. Ann's Rangers and North East Stars respectively. However, Defence Force upset San Juan Jabloteh 5–4 on penalties after the match ended 1–1 in regulation. United Petrotrin advanced to the semifinals after they beat Joe Public with the lone goal from Beville Joseph.[2]
| 13 May 2008 | Caledonia AIA | 3–1 | St. Ann's Rangers | Malabar, Trinidad |
| 18:00 (UTC-4) | Theobald 8' Joseph 34'Phillips 86' |
Report | Edwards 48' |
Stadium: Larry Gomes Stadium |
| 9 May 2008 | United Petrotrin | 1–0 | Joe Public | Marabella, Trinidad |
| 20:00 (UTC-4) | Joseph 50' |
Report | Stadium: Manny Ramjohn Stadium |
| 13 May 2008 | San Juan Jabloteh | 1–1 (4–5 p) | Defence Force | Malabar, Trinidad |
| 20:00 (UTC-4) | Byers 46' |
Report | Jorsling 90+3' |
Stadium: Larry Gomes Stadium |
| Penalties | ||||
Noel  Guerra Jean Gregory |
Jorsling Pierre Williams Roy Rivers |
|||
| 9 May 2008 | W Connection | 4–0 | North East Stars | Marabella, Trinidad |
| 18:00 (UTC-4) | Leon 18' Velasco-Torijano 42', 68'Hector 85' |
Report | Stadium: Manny Ramjohn Stadium |
Semifinals
On 16 May, Caledonia AIA needed penalty kicks to defeat United Petrotrin 4–2. In addition, Defence Force continued their run through the competition with a 2–0 upset win over W Connection.
| 16 May 2008 | Caledonia AIA | 0–0 (4–2 p) | United Petrotrin | Marabella, Trinidad |
| 20:30 (UTC-4) | Report | Stadium: Manny Ramjohn Stadium | ||
| Penalties | ||||
| Jemmott Codrington Joseph Theobald |
Daniel Caseman |
|||
| 16 May 2008 | W Connection | 0–2 | Defence Force | Marabella, Trinidad |
| 18:00 (UTC-4) | Report | Edwards 33' Durity 60' |
Stadium: Manny Ramjohn Stadium |
Final
In the final on 23 May, Caledonia AIA claimed the title over Defence Force following a quick goal from Kendall Velox in the 6th minute and an own goal by Corey Rivers a minute before half-time.[2] Using a double in W Connection's win over North East Stars, Oscar Velasco-Torijano was the tournament's leading goal scorer.
| 23 May 2008 | Defence Force | 0–2 | Caledonia AIA | Marabella, Trinidad |
| 19:00 (UTC-4) | Report | Velox 6' Rivers 44' (o.g.) |
Stadium: Manny Ramjohn Stadium |
References
- "Trinidad and Tobago - List of Champions". Radek Jelínekm, Hans Schöggl and RSSSF. 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
- "2008 Pro-League Fixtures". Inshan Mohammed (Soca Warriors Online). 2008-12-20. Archived from the original on August 11, 2011. Retrieved 2009-11-21.