Arnett Gardens move out of relegation zone

Dennis McKinley's 67th-minute strike gave hosts Arnett Gardens a crucial 1-0 win over August Town at the Tony Spaulding Complex, which lifted them out of the dreaded relegation zone for the time being.

The win advanced Arnett Gardens to eighth place and 33 points, the same as Rivoli United and Village United and two places above the drop zone, which is occupied by Sporting Central Academy and Portmore United on 30 points each.

The defeat also left August Town (31 points) hovering over the relegation zone by just one point.

Arnett Gardens were the better team for most of the match and deserved the three points at the end of the day. However, despite having the majority of the possession in the first-half they failed to really trouble Devon Haughton in goal.

The only real save the August Town custodian had to make came four minutes before half-time, but Newton Sterling's flicked on header from Gerald Neil's long throw was easily handled.

Seven minutes after the break, Leon Strickland got the best opening of the match, but Haughton was equal to his blast from six yards.

Two minutes later, Sterling's low free-kick presented all kinds of trouble for Haughton, which saw him spilling the ball, but the goalkeeper made amends with a quick reflex save to deny Strickland's chested effort from point-blank range.

Teafore Bennett produced August Town's best effort minutes after coming off the bench in the 59th, but his volley from Marvin Stewart's corner just whistled wide.

Sixty-five minutes into the match, Arnett Gardens made their only change of the game when they brought in teenager Lamar Nelson, and within two minutes the young Charlie Smith midfielder, who broke his foot and missed last season's Manning Cup, made his presence felt.

After picking up a pass on the goal line, the diminutive dribbler wriggled his way past two August Town defenders before setting up McKinley, who slammed an unstoppable shot past Haughton from inside the area.

The goal and Nelson's ability on the ball lifted Arnett's confidence, and Strickland wasted another good chance to add to the score when he kicked high over the bar late in the game from close-range.

Arnett's coach Wayne Fairclough, who was winning his third match in seven games since taking over, said it was a comprehensive display from his team.

"I thought we played good enough to win... our midfield was more imaginative, our defence was more organised and our forwards kept the ball and knew what they had to do," he said.

He also had high praise for Nelson, but insisted that the youngster must be properly nurtured and guided if he is to fulfil his potential.

August Town's assistant coach Dwight Morgan said his team lapsed after the break and was punished.

"We played well in the first-half but gave them too much space on the ball in the second-half," he said.

Teams: Arnett Gardens -- Julian McLeish, Anthowe Dawkins, Gerald Neil, Kevin Wilson, Rasheede Clarke, Dennis McKinley, Leon Strickland, Cornel Chin-Sue (Lamar Nelson 65th), William Richards, Newton Sterling, Fabian Smith.

Booked: None

Subs not used: R Reid, D Plummer, K King, R Smith, D Hyatt, Courtney Reid.

August Town -- Devon Haughton, Dean-Paul Grandison, Kevin Henzil, Odain Simpson, Rohan McDonald, Jamalie Richards, Aphas Bernard (Ajuran Brown 81st), Marvin Stewart, Kemar Cockburn (Jermaine Fletcher 75th), Mareace Clarke (Teafore Bennett 59th), Kemel Mullings.

Booked: Richards (7th), McDonald (80th).

Subs not used: N Smith, D Hibbert, M Miller, Diego Haughton.

Referee: Lewin Purser

Assistant Referees: Garnett Page, Lloyd Edwards

Fourth Official: Karl Tyrell

Match Commissary: Richard Nathan

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