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Cavalier come to life in second half to blank Arnett Gardens 3-0 Featured

By Sports Desk July 18, 2021 2084
Cavalier come to life in second half to blank Arnett Gardens 3-0 Jamaica Premier League

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.”

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Last modified on Sunday, 18 July 2021 10:26

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