The 2011 First Citizens Cup was the twelfth 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 ...

. Continuing from previous seasons, 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 eleventh consecutive year. To keep with the tag-line, the year's edition only rewarded prizes to the cup winners and runner-up. Joe Public, as the defending cup holders, did not enter the competition after the club withdrew from the Pro League citing financial difficulties. The ''Eastern Lions'' defeated Defence Force in the 2010 final. With both Defence Force's and

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

's players summoned by

Prime Minister

Kamla Persad-Bissessar Kamla Persad-Bissessar ( ; born Kamla Susheila Persad, 22 April 1952), often referred to by her initials KPB, is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian lawyer, politician and educator who is the Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago, politic ...

for service during a limited state of emergency, due to increased crime in portions of the country, only six Pro League clubs entered the competition.

Qualification

With the number of participating clubs in the

decreasing from ten to six over the 2010 edition of the

, the format of the cup was changed from a knockout tournament to a competition with two phases. The quarterfinal round was converted into a single round-robin group phase with the top two teams in each three-team group advancing to the semifinals. The second phase, including the semifinals and final, of the league cup remained a single-elimination knockout tournament with each group winner facing the other group's runner-up. The draw for the group stage took place on 14 September 2011 at the First Citizens corporate box in

Queen's Park Oval The Queen's Park Oval is a sports stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, used mostly for cricket matches. It opened in 1896. Privately owned by the Queen's Park Cricket Club, it is currently the second largest capacity cricket ground in ...

. Following the random drawing for the group stage,

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 ...

, St. Ann's Rangers, and T&TEC were placed into Group A. Whereas,

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 ...

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 Footba ...

, 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 ...

were drawn into Group B. All matches in the competition were staged in the

Hasely Crawford Stadium The Hasely Crawford Stadium, formerly the National Stadium, is located in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. It was inaugurated and formally opened by Prime Minister George Chambers on 12 June 1982. On 30 December 1996, Prime Minister Basdeo ...

in Mucurapo.

Schedule

The schedule for the 2011 First Citizens Cup, as announced by the

Group stage

The group stage featured the 6 teams from the

competing the year's edition of the

. In each group, teams played against each other once in a single round-robin format. The quarterfinal matchdays were on 16 September, 20 September, and 23 September 2011. The group winners and runners-up advanced to the

semifinals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...

, while the third-placed teams were eliminated from the competition. If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings (in descending order): # Higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question; # Superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question; # Higher number of goals scored in the group matches played among the teams in question;

Group A

The new format of the

began with a group stage on 16 September 2011. In a match at the

, St. Ann's Rangers and Pro League newcomer T&TEC settled for a goalless draw. On the second matchday on 20 September,

needed second-half goals from Willis Plaza,

Hector Sam Hector McLeod Sam (born 25 February 1978) is a Trinidadian former international footballer striker. He spent eight years as a professional player in the English Football League, most significantly playing a total of 176 games for Welsh club W ...

, and

Luke Gullick Luke Gullick (born 1986) is an English footballer who plays for Pontypridd Town in Wales. Sometimes used as a winger at Chippenham Town, he is able to be put in any position, including defense. Trinidad and Tobago Traveling to Trinidad and To ...

to rally from a 4–1 deficit to settle for a 4–4 draw with T&TEC. With the winner of

and St. Ann's Rangers match advancing to the semifinals,

Jason Marcano Jason Marcano (30 December 1983 – 30 May 2019) was a Trinidad and Tobago international footballer who played as a forward. Personal life Marcano was born to parents Maria John and Steve Marcano, the only boy with five sisters. He started his f ...

registered a goal in the 61st minute to propel the ''San Juan Kings'' to top Group A on four points. T&TEC advanced as Group A runners-up with draws in each of their two matches. ---- ---- ----

Group B

On 16 September 2011,

grabbed a 4–2 win over

to top the ''Group of Death'' after the first matchday. On 20 September,

defeated

4–1 to win Group B and advance to the semifinals with a perfect six points from their two matches.

used an Akim Armstrong brace to defeat

2–0 and advance to the semifinals as runners-up in Group B. ---- ----

Knockout phase

In the knockout phase, teams played against each other in a single-elimination tournament in the semifinals and final.

finished as Group A winners and faced the runners-up from Group B, the ''Morvant/Laventille Stallions'' of

. Moreover, the second semifinal match featured two undefeated teams with

entering as winners of Group B and T&TEC, with two draws from two matches, as the Group A runners-up. 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.

Bracket

Semifinals

In the surprise of the tournament, the ''Electricity Boys'' of T&TEC defeated

4–3 after a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

at the end of a 1–1 semifinal draw on 30 September 2011. Romauld Aguillera scored in the 21st minute to give T&TEC a 1–0 lead at the break. However, Jerrel Britto scored his third goal of the tournament to level the scoreline at 1–1 after regulation. In the penalty shootout, Akini Adams saved two penalties from

Joevin Jones Joevin Martin Jones (born 3 August 1991) is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Trinidad and Tobago national team. Jones' professional career began with W Connection ...

and Jerrel Britto to send T&TEC into the final. In the other semifinal, Jamal Gay scored two second-half goals to cancel out a first-half

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

from

's Marvin Oliver and give

a 2–1 win. ---- ----

Final

In the final on 14 October 2011 at

in Mucurapo, Sylvester Teesdale scored a goal in the 15th minute to give T&TEC an early 1–0 lead. However, Kareem Joseph equalized for

nine minutes later to send the match into

half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

at 1–1. In the second half, Joseph scored the eventual match winning goal from the

penalty spot The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it. Wit ...

to give the ''Morvant/Laventille Stallions'' their first

title.

References

External links

Official Website
{{2011–12 in Trinidadian football 2011 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 ...