The 2010–11 Trinidad and Tobago FA Trophy was the 81st season of the FA Trophy, which is the oldest football competition for teams in Trinidad and Tobago. Joe Public entered as the tournament's defending champion, who defeated W Connection in the 2009 final. The tournament commenced on 17 November 2010, with 32 teams competing in single elimination matches and concluded on 25 January 2011.

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 teams following the first round of matches in the 2010–11 season qualified as the Pro League's representatives for the competition. In addition, the top six finishers from the Super League also qualified. In addition, all six regional football associations were awarded three qualification positions into this year's edition.

The following clubs qualified for the 81st edition of the FA Trophy:

TT Pro League8 teamsNational Super League6 teamsRegional FA Leagues18 teams Caledonia AIA Defence Force Joe Public Ma Pau North East Stars San Juan Jabloteh St. Ann's Rangers W Connection Defence Force East West Super Starz Joe Public Real Maracas St. Francois Nationals T&TEC Central FA – Premier Division Caroni Connection Couva Sports Eagles United Eastern FA – Premier Division 1.FC Santa Rosa Malabar Valtrin United Eastern Counties – Football Union Biche United Damarie Hill Reunited Valencia UnitedNorthern FA – Premier Division Defence Force Petit Valley United Queen's Park Southern FA – Premier Division Diamond United La Brea All-Stars PAL United Tobago FA – Premier Division Castara Goal City Mason Hall St. Clair's Coaching School

Schedule The schedule for the 2010–11 FA Trophy, as announced by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association:

Round Date Matches Clubs New entries this round First round   17 November 2010 16 32 → 16 32: 1st–32nd Second round 29 November 2010 8 16 → 8 Quarterfinals 10 December 2010 4 8 → 4 Semifinals 12 January 2011 2 4 → 2 Final 25 January 2011 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 3 November 2010 at its head office in Port of Spain, Trinidad with ties played in the week beginning 17 November 2010. The only Pro League match-up featured Ma Pau facing W Connection. The remaining six professional teams advanced with little difficulty. Castara Goal City from the Tobago FA and Valencia United from the Eastern Counties Football Union defeated National Super League sides T&TEC and St. Francois Nationals respectively.

Tie noHome team  Score  Away team1San Juan Jabloteh3–0Valtrin United2Joe Public (PL)2–0Real Maracas3Ma Pau0–0W Connection0–0 after extra time – Ma Pau won 3–2 on penalties4East West Super Starz2–2North East StarsNorth East Stars won 5–2 after extra time5Damarie Hill Reunited3–3PAL United3–3 after extra time – Damarie Hill won 4–3 on penalties6St. Ann's Rangers5–0Malabar7Petit Valley United2–3La Brea All-Stars8Joe Public (SL)9–0Defence Force (NFA)

Tie noHome team  Score  Away team9St. Clair School1–2Queen's Park10Valencia United3–2St. Francois Nationals11Defence Force (PL)9–1Diamond United12Defence Force (SL)3–1Eagles United13Biche United1–4Caledonia AIA14Caroni Connection0–11.FC Santa Rosa15Castara Goal City2–1T&TEC16Mason Hall6–0Couva Sports

Second round

The draw for the second round took place on 17 November 2010 and involved the 16 winning teams from the first round. These were from the following levels:

7 from Level 1 (TT Pro League) 2 from Level 2 (National Super League) 7 from Level 3 (1 EFA Premier Division, 2 Eastern Counties Football Union, 1 NFA Premier Division, 1 SFA Premier Division, 2 Tobago FA Premier Division)

Matches in the second round were played in the week commencing 29 November 2010. La Brea All-Stars continued their run with a 3–2 win over Queen's Park. In the only match-up between teams from the Pro League, San Juan Jabloteh defeated defending champions Joe Public 2–0 after extra time to secure their place in the quarterfinals. Caledonia AIA received a scare from Defence Force from the National Super League, but prevailed using a 111th-minute goal from Ishmael Daniel in extra time.

Tie noHome team  Score  Away team1St. Ann's Rangers5–1Valencia United2Castara Goal City1–3North East Stars3Defence Force (PL)7–1Damarie Hill Reunited4La Brea All-Stars1–1Queen's ParkLa Brea All-Stars won 3–2 after extra time5Caledonia AIA1–1Defence Force (SL)Caledonia AIA won 2–1 after extra time61.FC Santa Rosa0–3Ma Pau7Mason Hall0–2Joe Public (SL)8Joe Public (PL)0–0San Juan JablotehSan Juan Jabloteh won 2–0 after extra time

Quarterfinals

The draw for the quarterfinals took place on 4 December 2010 and involved the 8 winning teams from the second round. The lowest ranked team left in the competition was La Brea All-Stars of the Southern FA Premier Division, the third tier of Trinidad and Tobago football. The eight remaining teams were from the following levels:

6 from Level 1 (TT Pro League) 1 from Level 2 (Joe Public of the National Super League) 1 from Level 3 (La Brea All-Stars of the Southern FA Premier Division)

Matches in the quarterfinals were played on 10 December 2010. The two remaining minnows were ousted at the quarterfinals stage, leaving the semifinals to be an all-professional affair. La Brea All-Stars of the SFA Premier Division were defeated by San Juan Jabloteh 5–0 in the late match at Ato Boldon Stadium. The other potential giant-killer Joe Public from the National Super League were also eliminated from the competition following a loss to professional side Caledonia AIA 5–4 on penalties after the match ended 2–2 in regulation. In the remaining all-Pro League matches, North East Stars defeated Ma Pau 1–0 and Defence Force (PL) beat St. Ann's Rangers by a 3–1 scoreline.

Semifinals The draw for the semifinals took place on 11 December 2010. The four remaining teams were all consisted of Pro League (1) teams including Caledonia AIA, Defence Force, North East Stars, and San Juan Jabloteh. Both semifinal matches took place at Marvin Lee Stadium on 12 January 2011. North East Stars defeated Defence Force (PL) 2–0 to reach the final of the competition. Both goals came from Guyanese Charles Pollard, who scored in the 24th and in first half stoppage time. In the other semifinal, San Juan Jabloteh needed eight penalty kicks to defeat Caledonia AIA by a score of 7–6 following a 2–2 scoreline after regulation time.

Final The final was played at Marvin Lee Stadium in Macoya, Trinidad on 29 January 2011. The match was contested by North East Stars, who defeated Defence Force (PL) 2–0 in their semifinal, and San Juan Jabloteh who needed penalties to defeat Caledonia AIA after the match ended 2–2 after the end of regulation. San Juan Jabloteh secured the Trophy following an early goal from Kennedy Hinkson in the 2nd minute and superb goalkeeping from Cleon John to defeat the North East Stars 1–0. The win marked the San Juan Boys''' third FA Trophy win, whereas the Sangre Grande Boys'' settled for their second runner-up in the competition. The leading goal scorer of the tournament was Akeil Pierre of Defence Force (PL) having scored a hat-trick in his side's first round match against Diamond United and a further brace against Damarie Hill Reunited in the second round.

References

External links Official Website