Edwards the hero as Arnett reward partisan crowd with 2-0 win
Published:Monday | March 21, 2022 | 12:06 AMDaniel Wheeler /Staff Reporter
On Saturday, the Arnett Gardens fans turned Sabina Park into the feverish atmosphere that you would expect at their home ground, the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex. And their team rewarded them with a win that solidified their own title ambitions, thanks to the heroics of their goalkeeper Eric Edwards.
Arnett Gardens prevailed against Tivoli Gardens 2-0, thanks to goals from Renaldo Cephas in the 42nd minute and Damari Deacon in the 89th minute, keeping the pressure on league leaders Waterhouse, who won the early game of the double-header.
With no vaccination cards required for the weekend’s games, in response to Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ decision to rescind the orders under the Disaster Risk Management Act, which were instituted to prevent the spread of COVID-19, a sizeable crowd watched the match and witnessed a strong goalkeeping display from Edwards, who made a key save in the first half and made a last-ditch save to prevent a late equaliser, guaranteeing their first win over Tivoli in two years.
“I saw the shot, but I never saw the ball coming. So I just stood my ground. I was going to the right and it deflected from my defender to my left and I just went for it, and it turned out to be the save of the game,“ Edwards, who moved to Arnett Gardens from Portmore United earlier this month, said.
Arnett Gardens head coach Paul Davis praised the exploits of his first-choice shot stopper, saying that he displayed signs in the opening 45 minutes which gave him confidence in Edwards and in the result.
“How I knew he was going to have a good game, in the first half he saved a point-blank shot. So that showed that he was going to have a good game. He kept us in the game. And that is his job and he did wonderful tonight (Saturday),” Hall said.
Despite Tivoli having the better run of play and the quality of chances, they could not get past Edwards, much to the frustration of Tivoli head coach Philip Williams.
“I think we found the Arnett Gardens goalkeeper in inspirational form, and he really kept them in the game in terms of making those two saves, especially when we had the momentum. Had we gotten that goal, the result would have been different,” Williams said. “But the team played well. Unfortunately, we didn’t come away with the positive result.”
Edwards says that the atmosphere created was a morale booster, with the restrictions lifted to allow all fans to attend the game.
“Tonight (Saturday) was a super night for us. It felt so good with the fans in the background, it felt so good with them cheering us on.”
Meanwhile, Waterhouse held on to first place as goals from Denardo Thomas and Shaqueil Bradford extended their unbeaten run to five games with a 2-0 win over Vere United.
Waterhouse assistant coach Damion Gordon credited their composure in ensuring that they were disciplined in breaking down a Vere United team that is now winless in four games.
“I think it was patience. We did a lot of that in training this week, and we [got] to see that play out in the game. We had our moments in the game and we took [advantage of] those moments,” Gordon said.