The 2008 Trinidad and Tobago League Cup was the ninth season of the ''

First Citizens Cup First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

'', which is the league cup competition for

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

teams competing in the

TT Pro League The TT Pro League (formerly known as the Professional Football League) is the Trinidad and Tobago professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division in the Trinidad ...

. The slogan for the year's league cup was ''No Room for Losers'' and was sponsored by

First Citizens Bank First Citizens Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Its primary subsidiary is First Citizens Bank. It is on the list of largest banks in the United States. As of December 31, 2019, the company operated 57 ...

for the eighth consecutive year.

W Connection W Connection Football Club is a football club from Trinidad and Tobago, which currently plays in the TT Pro League. The club plays its home games at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella. The club's offices are based at the Point Lisas Industria ...

entered as the defending champions after having defeated

Caledonia AIA Morvant Caledonia United (formerly known as Caledonia AIA) is a professional football team in Trinidad and Tobago's top-level TT Pro League. It is based in Morvant; its home stadium is Hasely Crawford Stadium. History The Caledonia AIA Football ...

2–0 in the 2007 final for their fourth consecutive league cup title.

Qualification

Seeding for the competition was determined from the league standings following the eighteenth league match day. The bottom four teams were placed in the qualifying round to determine which teams advance to the quarterfinals. The teams ranked from first to sixth advanced directly to the quarterfinals. The automatic quarterfinal qualifiers in order of league position were:

San Juan Jabloteh San Juan Jabloteh Football Club is a football club located in San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago that plays in the country's TT Pro League. The team plays its home games in Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo, Trinidad. History The club was founded ...

United Petrotrin United Petrotrin Football Club was a football club from Trinidad and Tobago and a former member of the TT Pro League of Trinidad. It was dissolved in 2009. History Formed in 1980, ''Trintoc'' entered the Point Fortin Football League that same y ...

, Joe Public, and St. Ann's Rangers.

Schedule

The schedule for the 2008 First Citizens Cup, as announced by the

Bracket

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

The knockout cup began in the qualifying round with

Tobago United Tobago United Football Club was a football club from Trinidad and Tobago, that played in Professional Football League of Trinidad. The team's home stadium was Dwight Yorke Stadium, 3 km from Scarborough, Tobago's main town. History Ensuri ...

and Defence Force recording upsets over higher-seeded Ma Pau and

North East Stars Athletic Club Port of Spain (previously known as North East Stars) is a Trinidad and Tobago professional football club, based in Port of Spain, Trinidad, that plays in the TT Pro League. The team plays its home games at the Hasely Crawford Stad ...

respectively. ---- ----

Quarterfinals

Fans saw a goal spree in the quarterfinals where 22 goals were scored in four matches on 12 September, which saw Jabloteh, Joe Public, Rangers, and

advance to the semifinals. ---- ---- ---- ----

Semifinals

On 19 September 2008, Joe Public used a lone goal from

Gregory Richardson Gregory Fitzpatrick Richardson (born 16 June 1982) is a Guyanese professional footballer who plays as a striker for GFF Elite League club Fruta Conquerors and the Guyana national team. Career Caribbean Richardson formerly played for Georget ...

to advance to the final. In the other semifinal,

blanked St. Ann's Rangers after goals from

Jonathan Faña Jonathan Rafael Faña Frías (born 11 April 1987) is a Dominican former professional footballer who played as a forward. Faña is the all-time international top goalscorer of the Dominican Republic national football team with 24 goals. Club c ...

and Atiba McKnight on either side of half-time. ---- ----

Third place

With wins by Joe Public and W Connection in the semifinals; San Juan Jabloteh and St. Ann's Rangers were sent to the third place match. Before the final match, St. Ann's Rangers used strikes from Keyon Edwards and

Josimar Belgrave Josimar is a given name. It may refer to: * Josimar Melo (born 1954), Brazilian food and wine journalist * Josimar (footballer, born 1961), Josimar Higino Pereira, Brazilian football right-back * Josimar (footballer, born 1972), Josimar de Carval ...

in two minutes to put away top seeded

for a third-place finish. ----

Final

claimed their fifth consecutive title and sixth overall in the tournament's nine-year history with a win over Joe Public in the final. The match was held on 26 September in

Manny Ramjohn Stadium The Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, located in Marabella, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, is named for long-distance runner Manny Ramjohn, the first person to win a gold medal for Trinidad and Tobago in a major international sporting event. The stadi ...

. After being dead-locked 2–2 at the end of regulation, W Connection used a miss by Joe Public's Jason Springer on the twelfth kick from the penalty spot to win 6–5 in the shootout. Although Joe Public finished runners-up,

led the tournament with four goals scored.

References

External links

Official Website
{{2008 in Trinidadian football 2008 First Citizens Cup

Trinidad and Tobago League Cup The Trinidad and Tobago League Cup, or commonly known as the First Citizens Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the League Cup style football competition open for Trinidad and Tobago teams competing in the country's TT Pro League. Similar to the FA Tr ...

Lea Lea or LEA may refer to: Places Australia * Lea River, Tasmania, Australia * Lake Lea, Tasmania, from which the Lea River flows * RAAF Base Learmonth, IATA airport code "LEA" England * Lea, Cheshire, a civil parish * Lea, Derbyshire, a set ...