Arnett, Cavalier end in exciting draw

Arnett Gardens coach, Jerome ‘Jerry’ Waite and Cavalier boss, Rudolph Speid both admitted that the teams’ 2-2 draw in their Red Stripe Premier League clash at Stadium East yesterday was a “fair result”.

Cavalier surged into a 2-0 lead, courtesy of a header by central defender Kamoy Simpson in the 24th minute and a well-placed shot from Alex Marshall in the 34th minute. However, the defending champions Arnett Gardens fought back with goals by Vishinul Harris (45th) and Fabian Reid (60th) in a game that saw both teams playing some exciting football throughout.

Marshall, a former St George’s College schoolboy superstar, showed bravery and maturity on the pitch in an entertaining and attacking display, which saw him not only scoring, but creating several opportunities for his teammates.

Speid credited the champions for their fight, while outlining his disappointment at letting a two-goal lead slip.

“I am very disappointed because the truth is that we just should not have conceded those goals. We got some chances, but they are the champions, so I did not expect them to just lay down,” Speid said.

“I think that the fans got what they wanted to see, it was a very exciting game. Alex (Marshall) was exciting, also other players from both teams. It was a fair result,” Speid reasoned.

Jerome ‘Jerry’ Waite, Arnett’s veteran coach, also shared his sentiments.

“In the first half we created two opportunities and should have put away one. Cavalier played with a purpose. We had a half-time team talk and our game lifted in the second half. We created more chances than Cavalier to kill off the game. In the end, a 2-2 draw is a fair result,” Waite said.

Arnett maintained their unbeaten run and remained in top position in the 12-team league on 23 points, while Cavalier inched to 16 points.