Cash-strapped Boys' Town go down at Arnett

Ryon Jones, Gleaner Writer

Cash-strapped Boys' Town opted to play their home match on Sunday against Arnett Gardens at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex in an effort to generate additional revenue. The affair, however, did not turn out to be as profitable for them on the field as it was hoped at the gate as they suffered a 2-0 defeat, their first 'home' loss of the season.

Dennis McKenley (22nd) and Kirk Ramsay (49th) scored for the 'Junglists' to see them move up a place to eighth with 19 points, while Boys' Town (26 points) remain third.

Andrew Price, coach of Boys' Town, did not believe the change of venue was to be blamed for his team's defeat.

"The team just didn't play well today. We came out very flat," Price stated. "They (the players) have to understand, they are the reason why we move these games here because we have to generate the revenue so that we can pay them and pay the bills that are outstanding.

"We are going to continue to look for games and opportunities where we can play games up here because we are under some severe financial stress, and in order for us to alleviate that we have to generate some revenue," he added.

No energy from Boys' Town

The game saw Arnett Gardens doing most of the running, as the usual second-half burst from Boys' Town never came.

"The players have to understand that they have to look at these games as home games and play in such a way. They didn't play like that today," Price pointed out. "There was no energy, there was no discipline, we didn't play anywhere near where we are capable of playing, and if you don't do that you are going to lose," he added.

Boys' Town had, just last week, registered an impressive 2-0 win over leaders Tivoli Gardens, and Price believes the players need to develop consistency.

Price said: "You can't play good one day and the next day you play badly, you have to be consistent. If you really want to challenge for the premier league title, you have to put back-to-back games together, and after playing so well against Tivoli, this is a major let down and I am really disappointed with my team."

This was Paul 'Tegat' Davis' fifth game in charge of Arnett, and he is yet to taste defeat, having played to three draws and two wins. He believes a change in the attitude of the players has led to the turn around.

"We tried to change their attitude, install discipline and let them realise this is their job," said Davis. "You could see character tonight, you could see the guys fighting and the fitness level and everything that we were expecting tonight, we really got it," he added.