IN terms of what they want to achieve at the end of this round, three points would have been ideal for Humble Lion.

But considering what transpired on the field, Donovan Duckie thinks his players did well to earn a point against league leaders Arnett Gardens in Monday night’s Red Stripe Premier League fixture at the Effortville Community Centre.

The 1-1 draw means that, despite going two points clear of Harbour View, Humble Lion missed the chance to tighten their grip on fourth spot. Yet it could have been much worse had the Clarendon side not possessed the resilience to recover from the largely self-inflected handicaps that dogged them throughout this contest.

On 26 minutes, they were forced to substitute their captain and leading goalscorer Jermaine Christian, who went off injured. Moments later, their goalkeeper, Damion Crooks, committed the unforced error that allowed a grateful Andre Clennon to give Arnett the lead.

But the madness didn’t stop there. Just three minutes after Decoy Williams’s 42nd-minute red card had given Humble Lion a numerical advantage, defender Ranaldo Christian, already on a yellow card, decided that they didn’t need it, swinging his boot into the chest of Clennon, who, already lying on the ground, posed no threat to his goal. Then, in the midst of chasing a late winner, centre-back Hugh Howell saw red on 89 minutes for a second bookable offence, which effectively forced his nine remaining teammates to settle for a point.

“It was a very difficult game for us,” admitted Duckie in his post-game interview. “The pressure was on us to win and having to chase the game made it more difficult. But we are not really hurt (by the result) because even if we had lost the game we would still be in fourth.”

“But,” he added, “it would have been nice to win and consolidate our position.” Especially with Harbour View, a direct rival for the last final semi-final spot, being their next opponent. “It is now important for us not to lose that game,” Duckie continued. “They are on our heels, so we need to get something from it.”

Meanwhile, for Arnett, the result moved them three points clear of second-placed Waterhouse (50) at the top of the points standing. But their coach Jerome Waite did express disappointment with the result, even while praising his opponents for the equaliser.

“Yes, it’s disappointing that we didn’t win,” said Waite. “But give credit to Humble Lion; it was a wonderful goal, hit with such power and precision from distance.”

Andrew Vanzie, the former Portmore United midfielder, was the architect.

The last time these sides met, Vanzie was the villain, picking up a careless red card after Humble Lion had just taken the lead. On this occasion, however, his act of heroism, which arrived on the 50-minute mark, was the difference between one point and none.

— OSHANE TOBIAS