Jorsling nets hat-trick as T&T clobber St Vincent

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC): Devon Jorsling fired a hat-trick as Trinidad and Tobago fought back from a deficit to thrash St Vincent and the Grenadines 6-2 and open their Digicel Caribbean Cup campaign on a high on Tuesday night.

Playing in Group F of the tournament at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, T&T found themselves down 2-1 before embarking on a second-half scoring spree to run out easy winners in the second game of the double-header.

In the opening encounter, Haiti and Guyana played to a nil-all draw to take a share of the points.

Early lead

T&T, anxious to prove their dominance after recently slipping to third in the Caribbean Football Union rankings, grabbed the lead as early as the second minute when the in-form Jorsling scored from close range after an interception from left-back Joevin Jones.

SVG hit back in 28th minute when Shandel Samuel capitalised on an error by goalkeeper Jan Michael Williams to knock the ball into an open net.

Seven minutes later, T&T were back in front, thanks to Jorsling, whose second strike of the half saw him shake his marker and produce a clinical finish.

However, Cornelius Stewart then stunned the local crowd when he pounced on an errant pass from central defender Julius James to draw SVG level with a 20-yard stunner.

The second half, however, was all Soca Warriors as they scored two goals in the opening 10 minutes to kill off SVG's hopes.

Kerry Baptiste, who had entered the game only moments earlier, started the revival for the hosts when he finished off Lester Peltier's pass.

Cracking volley

Jorsling then completed his hat-trick two minutes later with a cracking volley and Baptiste added his second of the night in the 67th minute by poking home a rebound after goalkeeper Dwayne Sandy had blocked Houghton Hector's free kick.

Hector was not to be denied in stoppage time, however, as he found the target with a free kick to put the icing on an outstanding T&T comeback.

The first game was a story of missed opportunities as both Haiti and Guyana squandered chances to snatch full points.

Even when Guyana were reduced to 10 men in the 67th minute, when Dwight Peters was sent off for his second yellow card, Haiti failed to capitalise on the one-man advantage.