Fabian Reid again etched his name into Jamaica Premier League history when he registered his 100th career goal as Arnett Gardens and Montego Bay United battled to an entertaining 2-2 draw at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in Catherine Hall on Monday night.
Reid, whose career has spanned stints in Trinidad and Tobago, Georgia, and India, reached the milestone in the 11th minute, as he headed home Ricardo Thomas’ weighted cross.
The 33-year-old striker then turned provider for Shai Smith (45+3) to give Arnett Gardens a 2-1 lead at the break, after Leonardo Rankine had pulled Montego Bay level in the 43rd. Brazilian Lucas Lima Correa ensured the spoils were shared when he equalised for the hosts in the 61st minute.
Reid was elated to hit the century mark, as he reflected on the journey that brought him to this moment.
“It’s a great feeling to reach 100 goals. I must first say thanks to God and my teammates for assisting me in reaching this milestone and getting a draw. We knew the task of this game was to win or get a point, so we knew we had to go out there and fight. It shows all the hard work and dedication over the years have paid off,” he shared.
The clash was always expected to be a tightly contested affair, given both teams' proximity in the standings and their storied rivalry. Arnett Gardens remain second on 62 points, two ahead of Montego Bay United, who are third. Mount Pleasant FA leads the league with 68 points.
The early exchanges set the tone for an action-packed encounter, as Montego Bay United fired the first warning shot through Johann Weatherly. Shortly after, captain Owayne Gordon threaded a through ball to Correa, but Arnett goalkeeper Tyrone Williams was quick off his line to snuff out the danger.
Arnett responded in the seventh minute when Smith rose to meet a cross, but his header went straight at goalkeeper Aaron Enil.
Reid got into the act in the 10th minute as Montego Bay United failed to clear their lines, allowing the striker a half-chance at goal. Though his initial lob lacked power, he made amends just a minute later, when he capitalised on the space given to nod Thomas’ precise cross past Enil—goal number 100.
Montego Bay pressed for an equalizer, and their persistence paid off in the 43rd minute when Rankine expertly headed home from Jean Claudio Perreira’s well-taken corner.
But Arnett reclaimed the lead in first-half stoppage time after Enil fumbled a cross, gifting Reid possession. The striker smartly teed up Smith, who fired home to make it 2-1 at the break.
The second half saw no let-up in intensity. Montego Bay United pushed forward and found the equalizer in the 61st minute when Correa buried his effort past a hapless Williams.
Still, both sides had chances to snatch a winner. In the 74th minute, Reid muscled his way through two defenders and went down inside the box, only for his penalty appeals to be waved away, and Smith came close again in the 79th minute with a left-footed strike straight at Enil.
Montego Bay nearly stole it in the 80th minute when Gordon danced past a defender and dragged his shot across the face of goal, with none of his teammates able to apply the finishing touch.
Reid had one last opportunity to secure victory when Enil gifted him possession, but his effort was deflected over the crossbar by a scrambling defender in time added.
Though pleased with the point, Arnett Gardens head coach Xavier Gilbert wasn’t entirely pleased with the performance
“I am disappointed with some aspect of the game; we didn’t deal with the set pieces well at all, and we gave them too many corners. So some parts of the game we managed well, but in other areas we didn’t do what we were supposed to do. It was an entertaining game, and things could have gone differently, but I am glad we didn’t lose all points,” Gilbert said.
His counterpart Dillon Thelwell, who stood in for Paul ‘Tegat’ Davis, also rued what could have been.
“Coming from behind two times with a lot of chances, I think we deserve more than a point, especially being at home. I’m not taking away anything from Arnett Gardens; they are a good team, and they created chances, but we created even more and should have won from the first half,” Thelwell declared.