Jaheim Thomas celebrates his goal against Mount Pleasant
Jamaica Premier League

Arbouine, Thomas on target as Arnett Gardens blank Mount Pleasant 2-0 to extend unbeaten run

December 28, 2023

Arnett Gardens extended their unbeaten run across six games when they took the scalp of reigning champions Mount Pleasant FA with a 2-0 victory in an entertaining Wray and Nephew Jamaica Premier League (WNJPL) encounter at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex on Wednesday.

After playing out a goalless first half, the ‘Junglists’ eventually broke the deadlock through Kimani Arbouine’s well-driven 54th-minute effort from just outside the 18-yard box.

Jaheim Thomas then capped the win with a delightful 69th-minute volley that beat Shaquan Davis, in goal for Mount Pleasant, all ends up.

With the win, the Xavier Gilbert-coached Arnett Gardens inched up to 21 points, same as second-placed Tivoli Gardens, but with a game in hand. Both are now a solitary point behind Mount Pleasant, who despite the loss, remain atop the standing.

Earlier, Tivoli Gardens through goals from Kimarley Smith (52nd), Howard Morris (62nd) and Alton Lewis (65th) downed Harbour View 3-0 in a lopsided affair. The loss saw Harbour View slipping back to 11th position on 10 points.

Much like Arnett Gardens, Dunbeholden FC continued their unbeaten run with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Waterhouse FC.

Damion Binns’ 53rd-minute own-goal and Brian Burkett’s 90th-minute strike, was enough to hand Dunbeholden the points, after Javane Bryan (41st) gave Waterhouse the lead.

The win moved Dunbeholden up to fifth on 18 points, same as fifth-placed Portmore United, who edged Vere United 1-0, while Waterhouse are sixth on 15 points.

Meanwhile, Humble Lion secured their first win under the guidance of Vassell Reynolds, as they edged Lime Hall Academy 1-0. The win stopped a three-match losing skid, and moved the Clarendon-based team up to 14 points in ninth position, while promoted Lime Hall remain at the foot of the 14-team standing on four points.

Matchweek 11 Results

Arnett Gardens 2, Mount Pleasant FA 0

Tivoli Gardens 3, Harbour View 0

Humble Lion 1, Lime Hall Academy 0

Waterhouse FC 1, Dunbeholden FC 2

Vere United 0, Portmore United 1

Cavalier 1, Treasure Beach FC 0

Molynes United 2, Montego Bay United 1

Howard Morris (foreground) celebrates one of his two goals with teammates.
Jamaica Premier League

Dunn, Morris on the double as Tivoli Gardens 'Humble' Lions

November 21, 2023
Jerome Waite and Tivoli Gardens continued their vibrant start to the Wray and Nephew Jamaica Premier League (WNJPL) season, as they downed Humble Lions 4-1 in a lopsided encounter at Stadium East Field on Monday.
 
The dynamic duo of Justin Dunn and Howard Morris proved menacing on the day, and both bagged a brace to lift the West Kingston team to a third win in four games so far this season.
 
Dunn continued his rich vein of form with goals in the 2nd and 53rd minutes that took his tally to six, while Morris's goals (45+1 and 88th), moved his tally to three. Interestingly, it was a 29th-minute own-goal by Tivoli's captain Barrington Pryce that turned out to be Humble Lions consolation. 
 
While Humble Lions remain seventh on five points, Tivoli Gardens inched up to third on nine points with 11 goals to their count, and that puts them well on course to surpass last season’s tally off 22 points and 29 goals. 
 
That for Waite was always the objective. 
 
"There is always room for improvement, even though we scored all goals, it could have been more, but poor decision-making and faulty execution let us down. If you know me, I am a very attacking coach and the whole objective is to score goals because goals make the difference in a game, so we just want to continue putting our best foot forward and see where it takes us this season," Waite said in a post-match interview.
 
It was a frantic start to the contest by Tivoli Gardens, who went straight to work from the whistle and quickly broke the deadlock courtesy of a slick one-two combination between Morris and Dunn, as the latter applied the finish past Prince-Daniel Smith from close range.
 
Though tempers flared in the early exchanges, particularly on the part of Humble Lions players, Tivoli Gardens maintained a cool and continued to frustrate the opponents with tidy movements in the attacking third.
 
Morris should have doubled the lead in the 15th minute when he was allowed space and time at the top of the 18-yard box to pull the trigger, but his shot didn't have enough venom to beat Smith.
 
That missed opportunity came back to haunt them 14 minutes later, as Humble Lions pulled level when Pryce turned an intended cross by Fabian Pascoe into his own net.
 
But that was all the Clarendon-based team would get against a dominant Tivoli Gardens outfit that was both brisk and enterprising in their build ups. In fact, Humble Lions struggled with defensive organization throughout, and Tivoli Gardens happily exploited those areas.
 
Another tidy team build up released Dunn in space to play a pass in for Morris, who made no mistakes on that occasion to out the West Kingston team 2-1 up at the break.
 
Tivoli maintained the momentum on the resumption and extended the lead eight minutes in, as Dunn arrived on the end of a delightful through pass from Nickalia Fuller and drove home a left-footer that gave Smith no chance at a save.
 
From there, Waite's side continued to apply consistent pressure to which Humble Lions had no response, and though they were made to wait in their probe for another goal, it inevitably came Two minutes from time.
 
This, when Dunn released another pass inside the danger area and Morris capitalized on the time and space to thump a right-footer past the hapless Smith and cap the win, which left Waite pleased for the most parts.
 
"Depending on the strength of the opposition, once we identify those areas, there are players who will be given a task (to nullify that strength) and all you want them to do is deliver on the day. The team has been doing well so far and it is our hope that the work they do in training will make the difference on game days," Waite said. 
 
His counterpart Andrew Price cut a dejected figure as he summed up his team's dismal performance. 
 
"I don't think we showed up, defensively we were out of shape, and we just didn't look interested in the game. This is the worse display I have seen from the team. I am disappointed with the way the team played and I expected more from them. But we just need to forget this quickly and get ourselves ready for the next game," Price said.
 
"We have to do some introspection; we know we are much better than this and so we have to get back to basics and start doing the simple things. We usually take pride in our defensive abilities, and we didn't show that and like I said its very disappointing," he added.
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