Though they finished at the bottom of the inaugural Trinidad and Tobago Premier Football League (TTPFL) season which ran from March - June 2023, Eagles FC (formerly known as Cunupia FC) are promising an attractive and entertaining brand of football for the upcoming season which starts on November 24.
Eagles managed just two wins from 22 matches as they brought up the rear of the 12-team table with just eight points. However, with a familiar face and name in Kevon "Showtime" Woodley returning to their ranks, coach Michael De Four expects his Eagles team to soar to new heights in the TTPFL's second season.
"We wanted to rebrand and change our name in keeping with our goals and aspirations going forward," De Four said during an interview with Newsday, likening the team's transformation to the process of metamorphosis. "Cunupia was a wonderful club. We came up from being a sweat side and a zonal side, then we basically ran through the Super League and ended up in the top tier."
[caption id="attachment_1043599" align="alignnone" width="1004"] Cunupia FC Coach Michael Du Four. - Photo by Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
Led by the influence of the heavy scoring Woodley, Eagles finished third in the 2018 Super League season and also lifted the Super League knockout competition in the same season after getting by QPCC in the final. They were then accepted into the Pro League for the 2019/20 season which was interrupted by covid19.
After a difficult first season in the TTPFL, the 37-year-old Woodley wants to inspire his team to a top-three finish as he targets the prospect of qualifying for Concacaf's club competitions. He says teams should be aware of the Eagles threat for the upcoming campaign.
"When (other teams) are coming to play us, let them come with their A-game," said the Tobago-born striker. "The system we are playing right now, I doubt they will be able to keep up with that system.
"We started to train before a lot of the teams so I believe we are about 85 per cent ready. About four Haitians came into (the team) so they have kinda changed the complexion of the team. The team is looking like a very lively team going forward. This team can do some damage going forward this season."
Woodley featured prominently for Eagles in the Ascension Invitational Tournament in 2022, but he played with a youthful Jabloteh team in the inaugural TTPFL season after joining them in the mid-season transfer window. Despite his late entry into the league, the former TT beach soccer standout tallied ten goals in the TTPFL – a goal count which saw him ending tied for fourth on the scoring charts.
"Last season, I came in at the latter part of the season and scored (ten goals)," Woodley said. "This season I'm starting from on top so I think I'll be looking for at least 22 or 23 goals. If I get 25 goals it would be a plus, but I am looking for 23.
"Once I get a team who is working for me defensively I think we would reach far."
Woodley says age is just a number as he paid homage to the 36-year-old Lionel Messi who won his e
