00:00With a field of the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup did not go as planned for the defense
00:04force last evening at the Haisley Crawford Stadium.
00:07They finished with 10 men and lost the game 5-0 to Philadelphia Union.
00:11A double by Bruno Damani gave the visitors the cushion they needed going into next week's second leg.
00:19Philadelphia Union taking on defense force at the Haisley Crawford Stadium.
00:23The home team had a few chances in the first 20 minutes, but Philadelphia was yet to get into gear.
00:30Saved by Williams.
00:31In the 28th minute, the strong point of their game play began to show against the team that conceded four
00:37yellow cards and one red card on the night.
00:40Maybe the first yellow card of the evening.
00:42Equal to the task was Philadelphia's ability to score from dead ball positions as Milan Lusky gets on the score
00:49sheet with a beautiful free kick.
00:51Jovin Jones had a rough match. He had his shot at goal saved on this occasion.
00:55And later on, he was very active in attempting to stem the pace of his opponents.
01:01However, Philadelphia had the magic touch. Some of their crucial crosses were just spot on.
01:06Ezekiel Alado doubles the lead in just the 32nd minute of the match.
01:11That's how the teams went into the halfway stage.
01:14Jones again trying to push things forward.
01:17Upset about having his shirt tugged by defender Nathan Harriel, he was given a yellow for it.
01:22In the 64th minute of play, the Lightning would strike again from a set position.
01:28All the way to Makanya added a third with a header.
01:32Jostling made five substitutions in the match, two of which were defensive positions.
01:36Arahu Wilson and Tristan Hodge making way for Christian Bailey and Jelani Felix.
01:42Still, Philadelphia's defender, Francis Westfield, found acres of space to backheel to substitute Caban Sullivan, who ran towards goal.
01:51His cross and subsequent strike by Bruno Damiani was deflected into goal, 4-0.
01:57Their substitutions were yielding rewards.
02:00In contrast, Jostling swapped in midfielder Rivaldo Corriat, forward Philip Nelson and Darius Oliveira.
02:07But they were played out of the match as the army's midfield appeared porous as water.
02:13A frustrated Jones wanted the shirt of Westfield, but the ref determined it was too early for that.
02:19Westfield again makes moves like he was the only man on the field.
02:24Desperate to prevent another, VAR was called into play.
02:31Damiani gets his second and his team's fifth in the 81st minute from a penalty.
02:36The match got increasingly physical as tempers flared, but Philadelphia was prepared to push back.
02:42Then, in comes Jones for the last time in the match.
02:45Red carded by the ref just before the whistle.
02:49Philadelphia 5, Defence Force 0.
02:51The return leg takes place on Thursday, 26th February.
02:55Surgeon 4, TV6 Sport.
02:58Well, reflecting on the outcome, coach of Defence Force Devon Jostling says his team was obviously disappointed with the result.
03:06Obviously, you will be disappointed after losing 5-0, but you have to be honest.
03:15And in terms of Defence Force and Philadelphia, it's different levels.
03:22I'm really proud of the guys in terms of they never gave up, right?
03:27But what I'm disappointed with is that we know they was really good for my dead balls, and for them
03:33to score four goals for my dead balls, I'm disappointed in that.
03:38But this is the level.
03:40And what we could do is, and what we will be doing is, working hard to reach this stage again
03:46the next time around, and hopefully go on better.
03:51Despite the heavy defeat, he says they will go into the next match with the intentions to play better.
04:15Head coach of Philadelphia Union, Bradley Camel, said that they were prepared for the Defence Force.
04:21He says their plans began to show in the second half, afterwithstanding their initial attack in the first.
04:27As you can see, in the first half, they caught us a couple of times with Kevin floating between the
04:33lines, Molino, Jovan Jones as well.
04:36You know, we know these guys from back in the days in the MLS, and the biggest danger is when
04:41we have the ball, we lose the ball, and if, you know, we're so spread out and expansive, they can
04:46transition really quickly with their athleticism.
04:49So, you know, we sorted that out at half-time, and I think you could see a real dominant performance
04:53in the second half, and that's what we had to change.
04:56Well, it was a memorable day for TNT match officials appointed to the FIFA International List of Match Officials for
05:022026.
05:03Seven referees and seven assistant referees were honoured for their achievements at the Atto Bolden Stadium.
05:09Some of the referees celebrated included Quincy Williams, Crystal Sobers, and Cecile Hines.
Comments