Arnett and Village aim to sharpen for second round

Nodley Wright, Gleaner Writer

Paul 'Tegat' Davis got a first-hand knowledge of what it will take to turn around the Arnett Gardens Football Club, as he presided over their 0-0 draw with bottom-of-the-table St Georges Sports Club on Sunday, in a game which saw his charges looking second best.

Among the observations made by Davis in the game played at their home ground - Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex - was the fact that his group lacked the physical conditioning required for the Digicel Premier League.

"We would really have loved to win this game, but one of the things that I have noticed about this team is the conditioning. That is one of the things that we have to work at and get to know the players so that we can adjust," reflected Davis after his first game with the former champions, who have found themselves struggling in the league for the better part of half a decade.

With most of the teams in the league going on a break for almost two weeks to facilitate an outstanding game between Tivoli Gardens and Humble Lion, as well as the End-of-Round final to be contested by Tivoli Gardens and Waterhouse, Davis will use the opportunity to get the players close to where he wants them physically.

"First of all, we have to work on fitness and we have to find one central midfielder who can control the game. We cannot have four of the same type of midfielders. We have to have variety. Those are things that we are going to work on and emphasise attacking (play) and scoring some goals," added Davis, who also spoke of the importance of the community supporting the team.

Bigger challenge

While Davis' task is big, his opposite number of the night, Braxton Hyre, is facing an even bigger challenge as his team, St Georges, are firmly planted at the bottom of the table.

"We are having problems and we are not the only ones having problems, but we will have to sort those out indoors," confessed Hyre, whose team has won just once and drawn twice in 11 games, for a total of five points.

The focus for his team in the next two weeks and the second round, according to Hyre, is simple.

"We will have to start accumulating points. Three points will be ideal and one point would not be too bad. We have to stop giving up goals and start scoring some goals," he said.

The game itself was not of a sustained, high quality, but one interspersed with satisfying moments and encouragement to football lovers. Both teams had their chances to score and possibly win the game with Rasheede Clarke missing Arnett's best chance in the 24th minute, when, with goalkeeper Ralston Robinson alone to beat, he sent a tame shot goalwards. Robinson, who was sound throughout the game, made a rare error and almost allowed the ball to escape his grasp before recovering to avoid an embarrassing situation.

St Georges had the better of the chances with Leon Irving, in particular, creating openings for them, but they lacked the intensity and sharpness in the final third.

Excellent pass

Damion Harwood, who looked ineffective for most of his stay on the field, got the chance of the match in the 83rd minute, when Irving's excellent pass picked him out in a suspiciously offside position. With goalkeeper Julian McLeish at his mercy, Harwood allowed the advancing goalkeeper to block his tame effort, as some of his St Georges teammates sank to the ground in agony and disappointment.

Coach Hyre was, however, still proud of his players.

"We came here today to win the game and as you saw we created the chances that could have won the game. What happened with the one point is that we are still at the bottom of the table.

"Three points would have been the ideal thing, but we have to give credit to the players. They played a disciplined game. Hats off to Arnett, I think they played well also. The 0-0 draw is a fair result," Hyre said.

Sunday's Results

Arnett 0 St Georges 0

Benfica 3 Reno 2

Boys' Town 1 Sporting 0

Humble Lion 1 Waterhouse 2

Tivoli 1 Portmore 1

Village 2 Harbour View 0

Standings

Teams P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Waterhouse 11 8 12 17 7 10 25

Tivoli 10 7 12 16 5 11 22

Boys' Town 11 6 2 3 13 12 1 20

Portmore 11 4 5 2 11 7 4 17

Benfica 11 5 2 4 14 16 -2 17

Harbour View 11 5 1 5 13 11 2 16

Reno 11 4 2 5 13 11 2 14

Sporting 11 4 1 6 11 9 2 13

Village 11 3 3 5 11  18 -7 12

Arnett 11 2 5 4 6 12 -6 11

Humble Lion 10 2 3 5 5 9 -4 9

St Georges 11 1 2 8 8 21 -15 5