Two goals in four minutes spurred Cavalier to a 3-0 win over Arnett Gardens as actions continued in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) at the JFF-UWI/Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence on Saturday.
After playing second fiddle for most of the game, Cavalier struck decisively in the 52nd minute when Shaniel Thomas slotted home from a Ronaldo Webster cross. Four minutes later, Melvin Doxilly’s scissor kick made it 2-0. Thomas would his second goal in the 79th minute slotting home from close range after Dwayne Atkinson’s shot rebounded off the crossbar.
It was a brilliant build-up involving Atkinson, who combined well with Kamoy Simpson to split the Arnett backline.
The win meant that Cavalier moved to the top of the JPL standings with seven points from four games while Arnett Gardens remained in eighth spot on three points from three games.
It was their first loss to Cavalier in their last five meetings, Arnett Gardens should have taken the lead in the sixth minute when Steve Clarke picked out Renaldo Cephas in the box but the latter dragged his shot wide.
They would dominate the half taking 11 shots at goal. Cavalier, meanwhile, failed to register a single shot.
Arnett began the second half well with Hardley Barnes firing just wide in the 48th minute.
However, Cavalier gradually began to turn things around and ended the game brilliantly by a margin that could have been wider Shaniel Thomas’ goal not been ruled out for offside.
St Lucian defender Melvin Doxilly, who started in midfield, was named Man-of-the-Match for his scissor-kick goal.
“It was an amazing goal. I told myself I will score today and I want to say thanks to the Most High for making me score my goal today,” said Doxilly.
Meanwhile, Cavalier’s assistant coach Everdean Scarlett was happy for the win. “It’s a game of two halves. The first half they had the better of us but at half-time, we went in and made some changes. We decided that we are going to press Arnett more and get into the spaces,” said Scarlett.
Losing coach Alex Thomas said his young team still has a lot to learn.
“We have to learn to play both halves, first and second. We played a wonderful first half and in the second we came out flat and gave up some simple goals. But we have to learn, they are young and we are in a rebuilding process and we just have to keep working.”
Calvert Fitzgerald has decided to part ways with the management of Molynes United with immediate effect.
Following his resignation as head coach last evening, Fitzgerald had initially stayed on as the technical director but has since decided to sever ties with the club permanently.
He revealed that his decision to step aside as the technical director had to do with loyalty to his staff that he had brought in to work with him at the club.
After a two-year stint with the club, and just two games into the league this season, he has asked to be released from his contract. Fitzgerald also revealed that he was not happy with being relieved of his head coach duties and was no longer interested in staying at the club.
“I have asked for a termination letter, and I got it. My contract has now been officially terminated. They were asking me to be the technical director and I decided that I did not want that post, I prefer my contract to be terminated,” Fitzgerald said.
“I brought a staff, and I was contracted to the club for two years to be the head coach [and] technical director. So, if I relinquish the position as the coach then my staff would automatically have to go because the head coach that came in would bring in his people, as is the norm in football. So, even though I would still be there as the person in charge of the football, the people that I brought along would be out,” Fitzgerald continued.
Asked if there was any disagreement culminating in his resignation, Fitzgerald said he was unaware of any problems between himself and the club prior to Tuesday, July 13.
“No, everything started on Tuesday. Well, apparently things [were] happening that I did not know about, but the proposal was put to me on Tuesday.”
Plans are underway to finalize a mutual financial settlement, but the former head coach says that if the club is unwilling to satisfy his demands, he will be taking them to court.
“It depends on how we settle now, so if we can’t settle then it will end up in the court but if we can settle then we can see if it's alright.”
“But I have gotten the termination letter, so I am no longer [attached] to the club, so it is just for the financial aspect of the contract now to be concluded," Fitzgerald explained.
It is expected that both parties will meet next week to finalize the agreement, Sportsmax.TV has confirmed.
“Somebody will be doing that on my behalf, so we wouldn’t know until early next week when both parties meet or you know to see what is going to happen from then on,” Fitzgerald said.
However, chairman of Molynes United FC, Eurado Cornwall, says that the club’s executive members are currently discussing the matter and are expecting a decision to be made by today.
“Presently we are in an executive meeting right now discussing it, so as soon as we come to a conclusion, we will take it from there, hopefully, today (Thursday),” said Cornwall.
The Jamaica Premier League’ Mount Pleasant Football Academy has announced that Head Coach Paul ‘Tegat’ Davis and his technical have left the club with Technical Director Walter Downes taking over the team with immediate effect.
Calvert Fitzgerald has resigned as head coach of Jamaica Premier League club Molynes United with immediate effect but remains as its technical director, Sportsmax.TV has confirmed.
Former champions Arnett Gardens came from behind to beat Humble Lion 2-1 in an exciting encounter in the final game of round three of the Jamaica Premier League at the Stadium East field on Monday.
Former Arnett Gardens star, Vishinul Harris opened the scoring for his new club Humble Lion in the 8th minute. But goals by Jonoy Cunningham (14th) and Renaldo Cephas (75th) turned it around for the Junglists.
Harris latched on to a Levaughn Williams defense-splitting pass and slotted home, but Cunningham pulled Arnett Gardens level with a thumping header from an Oshane Roberts corner kick.
Then the lively and skilful Cephas, who missed a sitter in the 72nd minute, returned three minutes later and found the clincher in clinical fashion, side-footing home from close range in the 75th minute.
It was a very good win for Arnett as they moved into eighth spot with three points from two games. The Alex Thomas-coached outfit has a game in hand and sits just three points adrift of the leaders Portmore United.
Clarendon-based outfit Humble Lion remained at the bottom of the 11-team league. without a point from three games and with a lot of work to do.
Losing coach Andrew Price of Humble Lion said his team is getting fitter but they didn’t close down the opponents and paid the price.
“We didn’t press the Arnett Gardens team enough. They are a young team, full of energy, and if you don’t pressure then you won’t be able to gain the ascendancy,” Price said.
“I think we played in patches and weren’t very consistent throughout the game and we will just have to continue to work,” he added.
“We didn’t play well enough today to win the game and we will have to accept that. We have to look in the mirror and see we weren’t good enough today.”
He remained optimistic that things will turn around for the better, but it will take time.
Dunbeholden assistant coach Ricardo Smith hailed the performance of standout midfielder Nickoy Christian for a man-of-the-match performance that inspired the team to its first win of the truncated Jamaica Premier League (JPL) season at the Stadium East Complex.
Throughout the game, it was Christian who controlled the tempo, marshalled the midfield, and was the key talisman behind all Dunbeholden’s set pieces.
In truth, from the opening whistle, Dunbeholden seemed to be the team that wanted it more. The blue and red-clad team were on the attack almost immediately and it paid dividends in the 5th minute of the game.
Off the end of Christian’s corner, veteran defender Andre Dyce latched on at the back post with a side-footed effort that nestled into the net for the opener and the only goal of the game.
A delighted Smith commended Christian’s performance and lauded his leadership in driving the team to a win.
“He took the team and was leading from the front, all the training sessions leading up to today. He was the leader from the warm-up to the game, he encouraged them, he did everything hence the performance today from him,” Smith explained.
However, Smith also commended his players for sticking to the game plan and stepping up to the challenge.
“We know that we had to come here today and soak up a lot of pressure because this team [Cavalier FC] is a ball possession team. And they are youthful, they run a lot, so we expected this from them. We talked about it we watched them before and we just gave it that strategy, we sit back and catch them on the counter,” he added.
This win came on the back of the new appointment of head coach Harold Thomas after losing their first two fixtures to Portmore United and Waterhouse FC, respectively.
Having won their first game and drawing their last, Cavalier FC suffered their first defeat of the season. Though it’s still early days, Cavalier coach Rudolph Speid acknowledges that they did not play well and that it was a tough defeat.
“I can’t put my finger on any one thing, but I think the early goal kind of stunned us. We were not able to be our usual standards and then the conditions were really breezy, very difficult to control the ball.”
On the day, Cavalier lacked the creativity that JPL is accustomed to seeing from them.
The Kingston-based team playing at home for the first time this season was, however, missing their main danger man Shaniel Thomas, Speid believes it hampered their way of playing.
Dunbeholden FC now moves from the bottom of the table to eighth position, on three points, while Cavalier FC remains in fourth on four points.
Waterhouse and Vere United battled to a 0-0 stalemate in their Jamaica Premier League match at the Stadium East field.
Vere United are showing that they belong with another sturdy, well-organized display that earned them a share of the points with their more celebrated opponents. The team that flirted with relegation in the last campaign have now climbed to fourth spot with five points, the same as Waterhouse, who are third because of a better goal difference.
However, it was a game that Waterhouse should have won as they created more and better chances throughout. The Drewsland-based team had 16 shots, seven of them on target and enjoyed 55 per cent of the possession.
Meanwhile, the Clarendon-based Vere United had only two shots and one on target, but they stuck to their game plan and defended stoutly, led by the uncompromising Ricardo Campbell, who was voted Man-of-the-Match.
Head coach Donovan Duckie said he was pleased with sharing the points against one of the league’s best teams.
“We knew that getting a point from this game would be a good achievement for us,” said Duckie. “We understand what is against us, those teams were playing in the CONCACAF league and are more prepared than us and I thought we did exceptionally well.”
Waterhouse’s assistant coach Damion Gordon thought his team played well but just did not get the desired result.
“I am not disappointed with the performance of the team but with the result. We did move the ball in changing the point of attack but they defended well,” said Gordon. “It’s a game-by-game situation and there will be games like this.”
Defender Andre Dyce’s fifth-minute goal lead Dunbeholden FC to a 1-0 win over Cavalier SC in their Jamaica Premier League encounter at the Stadium East field.
With the last kick of the game, Damano Solomon gave Portmore United a 1-0 win over Molynes United in the first Jamaica Premier League at the Stadium East field on Saturday.
Solomon latched onto a free-kick by Ricardo Morris six minutes into stoppage time and snatched victory in a game that seemed destined for a draw. It was a heartbreaking loss for a Molynes United team whose spirited display deserved a share of the points.
In the end, Portmore United secured their second win from three games and jumped to the top of the league with six points in the first match of the third round.
Molynes United remained in eighth on one point from two games.
Winning coach Ricardo Gardner was more than happy to take all three points.
“Football is like this sometimes. We would love to have put our chances away but, unfortunately, it wasn’t like that,” he said.
“I think our keeper made a very good save to keep us in the game. We left ourselves a little bit too open at times and gave our opponents (the chance) to go through on our keeper but we just have to improve on this.”
Molynes United’s coach Calvert Fitzgerald said the manner of the loss was disappointing.
“It’s a heartbreaker because we lost with the last kick of the game,” he said. “I thought Portmore played well, we countered and with the ebb and flow of the game, if I had gotten a point I would have been satisfied,” he said.
Portmore United created many opportunities but was thwarted by outstanding goalkeeping by Roje Williams and poor finishing.
In the 17th minute, Shante James whipped in a vicious shot that goalkeeper Williams blocked. A mad scramble ensued inside the box a Portmore United attacker committed a foul that ended any goalscoring opportunity.
As Portmore continued to dominate, Demario Phillips long-range free-kick took a deflection that forced goalkeeper Williams to save low to his left after initially going to his right.
A minute later, Portmore’s captain Ricardo Morris was on the end of a defence-splitting pass but smashed the ball into the side netting with his weaker right foot. Morris kicked over the bar in minute 30.
The lively Demario Phillips unleashed a powerful shot at goal that was parried for a corner, and from the resulting kick, Phillips teed up Seigle Knight, who crashed his shot onto the crossbar in the 40th minute. Molynes goalkeeper Williams would again come to the rescue of his team in true sweeper-keeper fashion, racing off his line to nullify Javick McFarlane, who was clean through on goal.
Morris would later kick high with Williams badly out of position.
Molynes United came out firing in the second half and former National Under-20 striker Nicholas Nelson, was through on goal on a couple of occasions, but good goalkeeping by Kemar Foster negated his chances.
In minute 52, Portmore came close to opening the scoring when Revaldo Mitchell slotted past the onrushing Williams but the ball was cleared off the line by Damion Thomas.
In the 65th minute, Nelson latched onto a ball over the top but Foster advanced to block with his feet. Then Foster again saved well to his left with another fantastic effort from Nelson.
Another good build-up play by Molynes involving three players was thwarted by a last-ditch tackle.
Portmore United’s Alvinus Myers was named Man of the Match.
Perennial rivals Waterhouse and Harbour View battled to a hard-fought 1-1 draw in the fifth and final match of the first round of the Jamaica Premier League.
The match played at the Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence, on the grounds of the University of the West Indies, saw Andre Fletcher converting a penalty for Waterhouse in the 15th minute but Oquassa Chong replied with a beautiful freekick in the 24th minute.
Just before Waterhouse got their penalty, Harbour View were left despondent as seconds before, they too had a loud shout for a penalty after Chong crashed to the turf in the area. Moments after and veteran Lovel Palmer was deemed to have committed a foul on Waterhouse’s Kenroy Howell. Referee Christopher Mason pointed to the spot after a brief look at the play. Andre Fletcher stepped up and fired past Tafari Chambers in goal and gave Waterhouse a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute.
The talented Chong, now becoming a freekick specialist from his exploits with Jamaica College in the Manning Cup, stepped up and curled a beauty past Tafari Chamber’s brother, Akeem, to pull Harbour View level in minute 24. It was an even game with a fair result and both teams really tried to play positive football in what turned out to be an entertaining encounter.
Waterhouse’s assistant coach, Daniel Bent, was pleased with the point although he believed they could have secured all three.
“Well, we got a point and we didn’t lose the game. But we wanted all three points but that didn’t come our way,” he pointed out.
“I think we had a good first half and even a better second half. We could have scored many goals if our decisions in the final third were better,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Harbour View’s head coach Ludlow Bernard said he was not totally disappointed with the result.
“It was a game of two halves. We attempted in the second half to really play on the counter but I don’t think our distribution was great and it kind of affected our abilities to create goal-scoring opportunities,” said Bernard.
Vere United and Molynes United played to a gloomy 0-0 stalemate in their Jamaica Premier League (JPL) game at the Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence, the University of the West Indies on Monday.
Defending Jamaica Premier League champions Portmore United kick-started their campaign with a comprehensive 2-0 win over Dunbeholden FC at the Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence at the University of the West Indies.
A deflected free-kick by Ricardo Morris in the 37th and a wonder strike by Emelio Rousseau in the 78th minute gave Portmore United a comfortable win in their St Catherine derby, over the upcoming Dunbeholden.
With a number of transfers between both clubs, with players going either way, this match-up was always expected to be an intriguing one and it did not disappoint.
Dunbeholden, clad in blue tops and white shorts, came out flying as Kimoni Bailey latched onto a raking diagonal pass but his rasping shot flew just high.
Portmore responded immediately. Left-back Omar Reid unleashed a menacing shot that goalkeeper Damian Hyatt managed to punch away. As the play swung from end-to-end, Dunbeholden’s new signing Mark Miller, formerly of Waterhouse FC, saw his free-kick turned around the post by Portmore’s custodian Kemar Foster for a corner.
It came to national player Ricardo Morris to find the breakthrough in the 37th minute after he was fouled just outside the box. He picked himself up, brushed himself off and fired a left-footed free-kick that took a wicked deflection off the back of defender Shaquille Dyer and wrong-footing Damion Hyatt in goal.
Dunbeholden never wilted and got a look in as former Portmore United player Rondee Smith teed up the energetic Bailey who shot wide. Smith also got a chance but his weak shot was easily saved.
With Dunbeholden searching for that equalizing goal, Portmore struck again in the 78th minute courtesy of a wonder strike by left-back Emelio Rousseau.
A free-kick was rolled into his path and from 35 metres, the former St George’s College player unleashed a powerful shot that comprehensively beat Hyatt.
To their credit, Dunbeholden continued to fight. They fought hard to the end with substitute Johann Weatherley getting two half chances to reduce the deficit.
With the win, Portmore United are now joint top of the league, which pleased Head Coach Ricardo Gardner.
“We wanted to function on what we did in training and we saw some of that today. It’s nice to get three points in tough conditions and they went out there and put their best foot forward,” said Gardner.
Dunbeholden’s assistant coach Ricardo Smith said his team may have blundered tactically.
“Tactically, we got it wrong and we are not blaming the players but tactically that’s the main part of it. So we just have to go back to the drawing board and come again,” he said.
The long-awaited much-anticipated Jamaica Premier League kicked off Saturday with Mount Pleasant Football Academy and Tivoli Gardens battling to a 0-0 draw in the opening match at the Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence.
Just over 14 months since the JPL was cancelled because of the outbreak of the Covi-19 across the globe, football action returned to Jamaica but there were no goals to celebrate the occasion.
Each team had to be satisfied with a point but the Paul “Tegat” Davis-coached Mount Pleasant got the better chances and would have been the more disappointing of the two, having 10 shots on target compared to just two by their opponent.
Playing on the artificial turf on grounds of the University of the West Indies (UWI), the St Ann-based Mount Pleasant, sporting blue tops and white shorts, were quick out of the blocks and applied early pressure on the orange and black-clad Tivoli Gardens outfit from West Kingston.
Playing at left-back, Sue-Lae McCalla created the first chance for Mount Pleasant but his powerful header was tipped over by goalkeeper Kewong Watkins in the sixth minute. Two minutes later, McCalla stung the hands of Watkins with a dipping swerving shot from 25m but Cardel Benbow failed to tuck away the rebound.
Tivoli Gardens got their first shot on target courtesy of the 41-year-old veteran Jermaine “Teddy” Johnson, who saw his free-kick blocked by goalkeeper David Swaby.
Minutes later, Mount Pleasant’s Kemar Beckford cut inside his marker but fired high from just outside the box.
There wasn’t much goal-mouth action in the second half but substitute Francois Swaby latched onto a through ball in the 76th minute only to be blocked by goalkeeper Watkins who stood tall and blocked well with his feet.
Daniel Green also fired straight at Watkins from an angle but Tivoli Gardens held on for a point.
The Man-of-the-match was Trevaune McKain of Tivoli Gardens, who was lively throughout and showed good skill on the ball.
Phillip Williams, head coach of Tivoli Gardens in his second season, was satisfied with a share of the points.
“The youngsters really stepped up and played a decent game for us today (Saturday). Mount Pleasant is a good running team and the boys passed with flying colours,” said Williams.
Mount Pleasant’s head coach Davis was visibly disappointed with the result.
“This is football and when you get some simple chances like that, maybe six, seven chances against this Tivoli Gardens team…the guys were flat, flat, flat,” Davis pointed out. “This is football and we would have loved the three points but it’s the start of the tournament so one point is good.”
A stunning goal and a beautiful assist by 19-year-old Dwayne “Busy” Atkinson gave a youthful Cavalier FC a deserved 2-0 win over an ageing Humble Lion team in the feature encounter at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence on Saturday.
The lively Atkinson, who came on as a 46th-minute substitute, fired a dipping shot from 25 metres that whistled past a bewildered Dennis Taylor in goal for Humble Lion in the 77th minute.
It was a beautiful goal deserving to be the first of this new season from a player, who Head Coach Rudolph Speid said was arguably the best player in the country when he was just 15-years-old.
Then in time added on in the 90+2, Atkinson latched onto a ball at the halfway line and in one motion with the outside of his right foot, curled a beautiful through ball into the path of fellow substitute Courtney Allen, who rounded the goalkeeper and slotted home.
It was three very good points for a spritely and youthful Cavalier team with an average age of 20 years and they have thrown down the gauntlet that they will be contenders.
The Clarendon-based Humble Lion unbelievably averaging 32 years, was left stunned by the young guns with some early soul searching needed as to the make-up of their ageing squad.
Man-of-the-Match Atkinson, formerly of Kingston College, said he will be hoping to keep the legacy going set by the former young guns of Cavalier who are now playing overseas.
Meanwhile winning coach Everdean Scarlett, was not surprised by Cavalier’s energy.
“My team gave a good performance of themselves and in the end, it was youthful exuberance that prevailed,” noted Scarlett.
Losing coach Andrew Price said his ageing men could not respond to the more energetic younger Cavalier boys. “We had about 14 training sessions and definitely this Cavalier team has been training long before us and they are a much fitter and younger bunch,” Price pointed out.
“Fatigue set in and we had to make some substitutions but it’s a learning curve. The mind is saying they can do thing but their body won’t allow them,” said Price
“In the second half Cavalier really turn on the burners on us. But it’s the first game so I won’t mark them too hard,” he added.
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