Arnett’s Thomas seeks consistency
Published:Saturday | July 17, 2021 | 12:11 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
Buoyed by their opening win of the 2020-21 Jamaica Premier League season, Arnett Gardens head coach Alex Thomas says his young team will now look to produce consistent performances in the league.
The “Junglists” will face Cavalier in the first game of the double-header at 1 p.m. today at the UWI/Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence. Arnett Gardens were the last team to kick off their 2021 season and after an opening day defeat to west Kingston rivals Tivoli Gardens two weeks ago, they registered their first win of the season against Humble Lion on Monday (2-1).
While the late start initially brought concerns on his team’s preparedness, Thomas says that having a more consistent schedule for the rest of the season will help his team build form as they push for a top-six finish.
“It doesn’t matter if we start early or late, we have to always push ourselves to the next level, to get up in the title race,” Thomas told The Gleaner. “And the objective is to finish in the top six and these boys are going to push themselves and, as a coaching staff, we are going to push them to the limit and they are going to work extremely hard to get there.”
Arnett have enjoyed an unbeaten record against Cavalier in their last four meetings registering three straight wins including their last meeting on March 3, 2020, when Steve Clarke scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win.
While acknowledging the attacking threat that Cavalier pose, Thomas says that they will not allow them to dictate proceedings and is solely focused on executing their game plan to nullify Cavalier
“We are not worried about changes (to our play). What we have to be concerned about is our game plan and focus on our game plan and stick to what we prepared for in the week and execute,” Thomas said.
Generating chances were among the problems that Cavalier faced in last week’s 1-0 defeat to Dunbeholden, something that Cavalier technical director Rudolph Speid pointed to after the game. He said the team missed absent striker Shaniel Thomas.
“He is normally our point man and it made life a little bit different. We had to set up a bit different to deal with his absence. It was just a bad day for us. We just have to work hard and come again,” Speid said.
Meanwhile, Harbour View’s Oquassa Chong will look to continue his goalscoring streak when they face Dunbeholden in the second game of the double-header at 3:30 p.m. Chong is currently the league’s leading goalscorer with three goals from three appearances.
Today’s matches
• 1 p.m: Arnett Gardens vs Cavalier • 3:30 p.m: Harbour View vs Dunbeholden