Hot St Georges burn Arnett Gardens 2-0

Gareth Davis, Gleaner Writer

BUFF BAY, Portland:

With the massive crowd chanting "best coach in the league", Geoffrey Maxwell left Lynch Park a happy man on Wednesday night following St Georges Sports Club's 2-0 victory over Arnett Gardens in their Digicel Premier League match at Lynch Park in Buff Bay.

"It was a good performance this time around," Maxwell said. "They played well, but in patches, and it goes to show once they follow instructions they can beat any team in the league. We will be going all out to win our two remaining games, and I must thank management and the fans for having confidence in the players. As I said before, it is a good team and they are destined for better things," he added.

The first half was evenly contested but it was St Georges who created the first scoring opportunity in the 14th minute, when the speedy Richardo Watson got by three defenders but sent his shot wide.

Watson left the field soon after, in the 34th minute, as he sustained an injury, and substitute Donovan Davis sent his team ahead five minutes later. He picked up a free kick from Dwayne Holmes in the 18-yard box and and fired a powerful left-footer into the back of the net.

The second half was completely dominated by St Georges.

The home team doubled their lead three minutes into the half. Damian Reid's shot from a corner was blocked but Girvon Brown was on spot to score from close range.

no real difference

Not even a double substitution by Arnett's coach Paul 'Tegat' Davis, bringing on Maurice Evans and Javon Simms in the 53rd minute to replace Leon Strickland and André Wheeler, respectively, made any real difference as Georges poured on the pressure with Romeo Parkes, Holmes, Donovan Davis, Reid and Brown mesmerising their opponents.

Mathematically, St Georges, who were last in the league right up to the end of the third round, need only a draw in the remaining two games to maintain their spot in the league.

Arnett's coach was humble in defeat, but noted that team members played their hearts out.

"Georges played a good game and credit must go to them," he said. "Arnett never had the fight this evening, unlike Sunday when we played well against Humble Lion. Two games remain, and we have home advantage in both. We have to get back to winning ways, as those two games are going to be critical."