The 2008 Trinidad and Tobago FA Trophy was the 79th season of the FA Trophy, which is the oldest football competition for teams in Trinidad and Tobago. The tournament took place at the conclusion of the 2008 season. Joe Public entered as the tournament's defending champion. The tournament began on 3 December, with 32 teams competing in single elimination matches.
Qualification
The tournament featured teams from the top three levels of the football pyramid. These three levels and 8 leagues, namely the TT Pro League, National Super League, Central FA's Premier Division, Eastern FA's Premier Division, Eastern Counties' Football Union, Northern FA's Premier Division, Southern FA's Premier Division, and Tobago FA's Premier Division, each have their own separate qualification process to trim their ranks down to their final team delegations.
The top eight finishers in the Pro League for the 2008 season all qualified for the competition. In addition, the top eight finishers from the Super League also qualified. However, only three clubs from 4 of the 6 regional football associations were awarded qualification into this year's edition, with the Eastern Counties and Northern FA as the exceptions as they only received two.
The following clubs qualified for the 79th edition of the FA Trophy:
TT Pro League8 teamsNational Super League8 teamsRegional FA Leagues16 teams Caledonia AIA Defence Force Joe Public North East Stars San Juan Jabloteh St. Ann's Rangers United Petrotrin W Connection Defence Force Harlem Strikers Harvard 1976 FC Phoenix St. Ann's Rangers Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard/Coast Guard Trinidad and Tobago U20 WASA Central FA – Premier Division A to Z United Harlem Strikers Strugglers Eastern FA – Premier Division Atomic Youth Joe Public Malick Togetherness Eastern Counties – Football Union Biche United Valencia UnitedNorthern FA – Premier Division Dathea Copious Suns Queen's Park Southern FA – Premier Division La Brea All-Stars Siparia Spurs T&TEC Tobago FA – Premier Division Charlotteville Unifiers Hills United Roxborough Lakers
Schedule The schedule for the 2008 FA Trophy, as announced by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association:
Round Date Matches Clubs New entries this round First round 3 December 2008 16 32 → 16 32: 1st–32nd Second round 7 December 2008 8 16 → 8 Quarterfinals 10 December 2008 4 8 → 4 Semifinals 15 December 2008 2 4 → 2 Final 17 December 2008 1 2 → 1
Results All matches were played over two 45 minute halves, and in the process if the match were drawn at the end of regulation time, then two additional 15-minute halves were used, and if necessary, penalty kicks if still drawn after extra time.
First round The draw for the most prestigious knockout tournament held by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association was made on 24 November 2008 at its head office in Port of Spain, Trinidad with ties played on 3 December 2008. The only Pro League match-up featured United Petrotrin against North East Stars. All Pro League clubs advanced easily into the second round with a combined scoreline of 28–2. With the withdrawal of Trinidad and Tobago U20, Charlotteville Unifiers was the lone survivor facing competition from a higher division.
Tie noHome team Score Away team 1W Connection 5–1A to Z United 2T&TEC 1–1Roxborough Lakers1–1 after extra time – T&TEC won 4–3 on penalties 3Malick Togetherness 2–1Valencia United 4Charlotteville Unifiers w/oTrinidad and Tobago U20Awarded to Charlotteville, T&T U20 withdrew after draw 5Joe Public (EFA) 0–2Caledonia AIA 6Harvard 2–0Biche United 7Harlem Strikers (NFA) 0–7San Juan Jabloteh 8Siparia Spurs 1–2Dathea Copious Suns
Tie noHome team Score Away team 9St. Ann's Rangers (PL) 5–0Hills United 10St. Ann's Rangers (SL) w/oLa Brea All-StarsAwarded to St. Ann's Rangers (SL), La Brea withdrew after draw 11Queen's Park 3–0Strugglers 12Atomic Youth Movement 1–3Joe Public (PL) 13United Petrotrin 0–1North East Stars 14WASA 2–1Defence Force (SL) 151976 FC Phoenix w/oHarlem Strikers (SL)Awarded to 1976 FC Phoenix, Strikers withdrew after draw 16Defence Force (PL) 6–0T&T AG/CG
Second round
The draw for the second round took place on 4 December 2008 and involved the 16 winning teams from the first round. These were from the following levels:
7 from Level 1 (TT Pro League) 4 from Level 2 (National Super League) 5 from Level 3 (1 EFA Premier Division, 2 NFA Premier Division, 1 SFA Premier Division, 1 Tobago FA Premier Division)
Matches in the second round were played on 7 December 2008. 1976 FC Phoenix and WASA provided the Trophy's first two upsets over Pro League clubs by putting out Joe Public and North East Stars, respectively. Another surprise from the round was that Dathea Copious Suns defeated T&TEC to be the lone representative from the third level of the pyramid in the quarterfinals.
Tie noHome team Score Away team 1St. Ann's Rangers (SL) 0–5St. Ann's Rangers (PL) 2Defence Force (PL) 6–1Queen's Park 31976 FC Phoenix 2–2Joe Public (PL)2–2 after extra time – 1976 FC Phoenix won 4–2 on penalties 4Charlotteville Unifiers 0–7San Juan Jabloteh 5Caledonia AIA 9–0Harvard 6Malick Togetherness 0–6W Connection 7WASA 3–3North East Stars3–3 after extra time – WASA won 5–4 on penalties 8T&TEC 1–2Dathea Copious Suns
Quarterfinals The draw for the quarterfinals took place on 8 December 2008 and involved the 8 winning teams from the second round. These were from the following levels:
5 from Level 1 (TT Pro League) 2 from Level 2 (National Super League) 1 from Level 3 (Dathea Copious Suns of the Northern FA Premier Division)
Matches in the quarterfinals were played on 10 December 2008. WASA remained the only club from outside the TT Pro League to advance to the semifinals after defeating Dathea Copious Suns. Caledonia AIA needed extra time to defeat St. Ann's Rangers (PL), Defence Force stunned San Juan Jabloteh 2–1, and W Connection put out giant-killers 1976 FC Phoenix to advance to the semifinals.
Semifinals The draw for the semifinals took place on 11 December 2008. It consisted of Caledonia AIA, Defence Force, and W Connection from the Pro League (1) and WASA from the National Super League (2). The semifinal matches took place at Marvin Lee Stadium on 15 December 2008.
W Connection made quick work of Super League side WASA to end their run in the competition by putting up eight goals. Caledonia AIA defeated Defence Force 4–2 to make it back-to-back final appearances.
Final The final was played at Marvin Lee Stadium in Macoya, Trinidad on 17 December 2008. The match was contested by Caledonia AIA, who beat Defence Force 4–2 in their semifinal, and W Connection who beat WASA 8–1. Caledonia AIA used a goal late from Conrad Smith to level the match at two each in the 82nd minute. After the match ended 2–2 in regulation, Caledonia AIA used the momentum and produced a goal from Jameel Perry in the 108th minute to give Caledonia AIA their first FA Trophy title. Atiba McKnight claimed the title of the Trophy's leading goal scorer with six goals for W Connection on their way to the final.
References
External links Official Website