CAVALIER Soccer Club extended their lead atop the 2014/15 Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) after blanking Arnett Gardens Football Club 2-0 in a top-of-the-table clash at the National Stadium on Monday night.

A brace by Girvon Brown in the 44th and 45th minutes was enough for Cavalier SC to maintain their unbeaten record as they moved up to 17 points. Arnett Gardens, who were suffering their first defeat of the season, remain in second position on 11 points.

Both teams ended with 10 players in the physical encounter that yielded three yellow and two red cards. Arnett Gardens’ Jabeur Johnson and Dwayne Holmes of Cavalier were sent off for committing their second bookable offence in the 77th and 84th minutes.

Arnett Gardens took the initiative from the opening whistle and were more compact and enterprising in attack. The combination of Marvin Morgan and Alanzo Adlam led from the middle of the park as Arnett applied consistent pressure which had their opponents on the back foot.

The ‘Junglists’ went close on four occasions, all of which were orchestrated by Morgan. Their best chance of the half came in the 19th minute when a teasing cross by Adlam picked out Vishinul Harris, who got in behind defenders, but his tame shot went straight into the hands of Cavalier’s goalkeeper Kadeem Davis.

Those missed chances would return to haunt them in the 44th minute when a long throw into the 18-yard box eluded defenders and was picked up at the back post by Brown, who made no mistake.

Cavalier went 2-0 up a minute later when Arnett Gardens failed to clear their lines from another long throw. That mistake allowed Brown to complete his brace by walking the ball into the back of the net on the stroke of half-time.

The tempo of the game went up a notch after the resumption. However, the score would remain unchanged as both teams failed to put away numerous chances, before the physical nature of the game got really ugly.

Winning coach Rudolph Speid hailed his team for a well-played game, despite a little indiscipline at the end.

“Today (Monday) we came out with a plan, we know that Arnett is a very attacking team and once you attack that much you are open to the counter- attack. Once we got the two goals we just laid back and played them on the counter and we could have gotten two or three more in the end.

“I have to thank the coaching staff and the players; they really played according to the plan and we got the three points. Arnett Gardens is a team that we have never beaten since we came back to the premier league, so the red card…I suppose the player was so hyped and under the circumstances I won’t fault him,” Speid told the Jamaica Observer.

Meanwhile, Jerome Waite, coach of Arnett Gardens, blamed poor defending and faulty finishing for his team’s loss.

“Those two goals that scored from a throw-in…it is not acceptable at this level. These are players who are playing the top-flight football in the country and to see defenders not challenging throws coming into the 18-yard box it’s really a disappointment. We had our chances in the first half and had we converted those it would have been a different ball game,” he lamented.

Teams: Cavalier SC — Kadeem Davis, Jeffery Grant, Al Nesbeth, Girvon Brown, Kamoy Simpson, Davion Alves (Chevon Williams 70th), Oshane Jenkins (Javanie Mitchell 78th), Donovan Alvaranga, Dwayne Holmes, Chevone Marsh (Nicholas Hamilton 82nd), Jerome Smith

Subs not used: Shamayo Morgan, Jermaine Ricketts, Claudius Blackburn, Asaune Smith

Booked: Brown (19th), Alves (51st), Holmes (card 24th, red card 84th)

Arnett Gardens — Dane Hyatt, Anthowe Dawkins, Jabeur Johnson, Shaquille Dyer, Kenniel Hyde, Vishinul Harris (Kirk Ramsey 63rd), Jaron Richards (Kevin Wilson 71st), Michaelos Martin (Oniel Thompson 63rd), Marvin Morgan, Dasha Satchwell, Alanzo Adlam

Subs not used: Renardo Wright, Jahmeel Thompson, Steve Clarke, Jamar Martin

Booked: Richards (68th), Johnson (67th, red card 77th)

Referee: Courtney Campbell

Assistant Referees: Llyod Reader, Omar Mills

Fourth Official: Odette Hamilton

Match Commissary: Horace Lewis