W Connection lost a chance to go on top the 2008 T&T Pro League as they settled for a 1-1 draw against Neal & Massy Caledonia AIA on Saturday evening at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella.

Ten weeks have passed since defending champions CLICO San Juan Jabloteh ascended to the pole position in domestic football and Connection would surely have fancied replacing them on the weekend--although Jabloteh still have a game in hand.

Caledonia are not easily dismissed, though, and, on the balance of play, Connection had no reason to feel disappointed with a solitary point from the encounter.

A clever exchange by Conrad Smith and Hayden Tinto conjured up the opener for Caledonia left flanker, Walter Moore, just after the half-hour mark, although Connection replied with a splendid item by Teba McKnight, six minutes after the interval.

Substitute Andre Toussaint almost concocted a winner in the dying minutes but found Caledonia’s Vincentian goalkeeper Dwain Sandy in stubborn mood.

Connection will need to find an extra gear tomorrow evening when they face Jabloteh in a crucial fixture at the same venue. The contrasting styles of the two top Trinidad and Tobago clubs ensure an intriguing and keenly-contested affair whenever they share the field.

But, arguably, the respectful, expressive atmosphere of the Caledonia-Connection duels offer more for football fans who prefer their meals served with garnish.

Caledonia rarely master the southern giants but started with intent on Saturday. Tinto looked especially sharp and it was little surprise that he was involved in the opener.

A clever feint took the diminutive winger past two Connection defenders and his crisp low service needed only a finishing touch by a lunging Moore.

Bmobile Joe Public’s Kerry Baptiste raised the bar for wing play against United States’ Major League Soccer (MLS) Eastern champions, New England Revolution, in midweek but Tinto’s first half showing suggested that national coach Francisco Maturana is not short of options.

At the other end, Connection coach Stuart Charles-Fevrier and owner David John Williams have regularly sung the praises of versatile, attacking midfielder Hughton Hector and his performance was a useful cocktail of incisive, diagonal passes and sharp pivots around opponents.

Another relative newcomer to the national scene, McKnight managed Connection’s champagne moment, though, as he took a long ball on his chest and spun his marker, Guyanese international defender Howard Lowe, in one flowing movement before hammering past Sandy.

Saturday’s outing was a fair advert for the local league. But Connection would have to do better when Jabloteh visit on Tuesday.

SATURDAY’S T&T PRO LEAGUE RESULTS:

North East Stars 1 (Anthony Wolfe, 7th) vs Defence Force 0

Tobago United 2 (Makesi Jackson, 51st; Carey Harris, 73rd) vs Ma Pau 0

W Connection 1(Teba McKnight, 50th) Caledonia AIA 1 (Walter

Moore, 34th)