‘It just didn’t happen for us ...’
Arnett Gardens drop points against Molynes, overtaken by Montego Bay United
Published:Saturday | January 25, 2025 | 4:11 AMGregory Bryce/Staff Reporter
As the race for the top spot in the Wray & Nephew-sponsored Jamaica Premier League (JPL) regular season continues, Arnett Gardens dropped valuable points as they were held to a goalless draw by Molynes United on Thursday in match week 19 action.
Coming into the game as heavy favourites, Arnett were in full control from start to finish as they dominated much of the proceedings.
However, despite a bright start to life, the game soon descended into a contest of misplaced passes, over-hit shots and a missed penalty as the Junglists struggled to find the all-important goal to secure all three points.
Arnett head coach Xavier Gilbert blamed his team’s poor decision-making in the final third for their inability to get on the scoresheet on the night.
“It didn’t work tonight,” he said on Thursday night. “I thought we were a bit impatient and made some rash decisions. Our decision-making has to improve and I think if we had combined a little more, then things would have been different.”
He continued, “We took some shots when I thought we could have made another pass and get into a wide area for the pullback but it just didn’t happen for us tonight.”
Arnett saw a string of opportunities come to nothing in a night where they were stymied by poor finishing and a brilliant shift by the Molynes custodian Darren Donaie.
Captain Fabian Reid came close to opening the scoring in the first half as he was left unmarked in the box but his header was cleared off the line by Molynes defender David Hutchinson.
MISSED SHOT
Reid was once again called upon minutes later as he found a sliver of space on top of the box but could not keep his shot from skyrocketing over the crossbar.
Hutchinson’s late challenge in the box on an onrushing Rushike Kelson saw the Junglists drawing a penalty just a few minutes after the restart.
However, their captain Reid missed out on the prime opportunity to open the scoring as his tame low-driven effort was saved by Donaie.
As the game dragged on, tired legs began to show as both teams began misplacing key passes and wayward strikes to the dismay of a frustrated home support.
The referee would soon call a close to the match and Molynes left the field the happier of the two teams.
Molynes head coach, Jermaine Thomas, said the plan was to ensure Arnett would not get on the scoresheet.
While he would have wanted a better attacking performance from his team, he was content with his team’s defensive display as they left with a point.
“Different opponents so different tactics,” he explained. “Arnett can hit you on the counter and they have some speedy players that can really hurt you, so I thought we needed to defend properly tonight,” Thomas said.
Arnett dropped to third in the standings on 38 points as Montego Bay United won to move into second place with 40 points.
Montego Bay pulled off a 3-1 come-from-behind victory against Humble Lion in their midweek fixture through a brace from Shaniel Thomas and a late Daniel Reid strike.
Stephen Barnett scored the consolation goal for Humble Lion.
Also in action during the week, Mount Pleasant continued their impressive form this season as they clipped reigning champions Cavalier 3-0 to move six points clear at the top with 46 points.