MIAMI, Florida – Shaniel Thomas notched a hat-trick to help Jamaican club Cavalier take a big step toward the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Club semifinals with a 3-0 victory on Tuesday night against Moca of the Dominican Republic in Group A action at Independence Park in Kingston, Jamaica.
With the win, Cavalier now sit atop the group with seven points through three matches, while Moca remain in third-place with three points after two games.
Shaniel Thomas goes down as scoring the first hat-trick in Caribbean Cup history and leads the tournament in scoring with four goals.
It was a fairly even start between the two sides, but midway through the first 45 minutes in the 24’ Cavalier were able to break the deadlock through Thomas.
A long ball was hoofed up the left flank for Makenson Cadet, who ran onto it and then chipped over a defender, allowing Thomas to meet the ball with a powerful header into net and a 1-0 Cavalier advantage.
Cavalier kept their foot on the gas and a swinging right-footed effort from Nicholas Hamilton in the 49’ that curled just wide was the next big look at goal for the hosts.
Another chance would come for Cavalier in the 58’ and they made the most of it when the Moca defense failed to clear their lines and Thomas was all too happy to take a simple back pass and hammer in a shot from a few yards out to double the lead to 2-0.
Thomas wasn’t done, and a minute after he was brought down by Moca DF Manuel Vidal in the area, the Cavalier FW smashed home a penalty in the 77’ to nail down his hat trick and the 3-0 Cavalier victory.
