Finally ... Arnett get off the mark

Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

Arnett Gardens registered their first win of the season under the direction of newly appointed player/coach Fabian Davis, clipping rivals Tivoli Gardens 1-0 in the Digicel Premier League (DPL) at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex yesterday.

Another debutant Roy Forbes was responsible for providing the important goal at the 50th minute for the Junglists, who had lost their first four matches - all by one-goal margins.

The forward kept his eyes firmly fixed on a poorly attempted clearance by Tivoli before blasting past a fully stretched Tivoli Gardens custodian, Leon Gordon, from just outside the area.

"It meant a lot to me to come out here and get such an important goal. We had gone four games without a win and it's good to see that end," Forbes, who was also celebrating his birthday, said.

Opportunities

A sprightly looking Arnett created most of the opportunities for the game and could have been on target as early as the 20th minute. An alert Gordon, however, scrambled to block the close range shot of Kevin Wilson.

In the 60th minute, a Charles Williams cross left Gordon a mere spectator as it drifted to the far post, but Forbes, who was in the area, could not get any kind of touch on the ball.

With the 70th-minute introduction of midfielders Jermaine Taylor and Craig Stewart Tivoli, who had looked flat for a good portion of the match, they appeared more incisive going forward but struggled to create legitimate goalscoring opportunities.

Tough bunch

"I'm disappointed we didn't have a good first half. I think we picked things up in the second though, but we still could not finish chances," said Lenworth Hyde Sr, Tivoli's coach.

"A lot of credit has to go to the Arnett defence though, they were a tough bunch at the back," he added.

The loss was the first of the season for Tivoli.

Davis, who put himself on the pitch with around 10 minutes left in the game, was obviously delighted with the team's first win.

"We worked a lot on just keeping our shape and holding our position all week and I think that paid off for us today," he said.

"Things have been shaky for us so far, but I am confident that we will be able to improve," he added.