Late concession leaves Arnett coach 'disappointed'

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

Village United and Arnett Gardens showed signs of good early season form yesterday afternoon, when they played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in their opening game of the 2010-11 Digicel Premier League, at the Elliston Wakeland Centre in Falmouth.

Arnett, which twice took the lead, got both goals from Kirk Ramsey, while Village United replied through Troy Smith (penalty) and Fitzroy Campbell.

"It was an acceptable performance, the set surface was not conducive to our style of play," said Marvin Tate, coach of Village United. "We would have been happier with all three points but we are satisfied."

For Arnett Gardens coach Wayne Fairclough, whose team had a 2-1 lead with four minutes to go, it was a disappointing result as he felt his team should have taken maximum points.

"I am very disappointed," said Fairclough. "We went 2-1 up, we had the game for the taking but we failed to stay composed and gave up that late equaliser."

In the opening minutes, Village United dominated the action and created several opportunities before Arnett Gardens settled down. The easiest of the opportunities fell to Dino Williams in the 16th minute, but he fired inches wide of the far post.

Arnett Gardens came to life in the 22nd minute when Newton Sterling rose high above the Village defence for a cross, but directed his header wide of the out-of-positioned goalkeeper.

With action swinging from end to end, Arnett Gardens took the lead in the 33rd minute. A pass down the middle caught the Village defence napping and the alert Ramsey slotted past the goalkeeper, making the score 1-0.

No mistake

Finding themselves behind, Village stepped up the tempo and on one of their forward thrust, Andraes Nickles was fouled in the goal area and the referee ruled penalty. Smith made no mistake from the spot, making the half-time score 1-1.

The second half started with Arnett Gardens going all out in attack and they were rewarded immediately. A lofted cross from the left flank found Ramsey unmarked at the far post and his header squeezed into the goal, making the score 2-1.

With the lead and the momentum in their favour, Arnett Gardens took control of the game, putting Village under pressure with well-coordinated attacks. However, faulty finishing let them down.

Midway the half, Village should have pulled level when Oliver Trail broke free before the goal, but with a clear chance to shoot, he hesitated and was smartly relieved of the ball.

With Arnett Gardens seemingly content with their lead and hanging back in defence, Village found the equaliser in the 86th minute. A melee developed before the goal and the overlapping Campbell fired a powerful grounder which flashed past the goalkeeper, making the final score 2-2.