Jamaica’s Arnett Gardens and Portmore United will be playing in the second-tier 2018 CONCACAF League after finishing second and third, respectively, in the FLOW CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship on Sunday.

Arnett Gardens succumbed 5-6 on penalties to Athletic Club Pantoja of the Dominican Republic after playing to a 0-0 draw, while Portmore United came from behind to clip Central FC of Trinidad and Tobago 2-1.

Arnett Gardens earned US$30,000 and Portmore United pocketed US$15,000.

Champions Athletic Club Pantoja, who earned US$50,000, qualified for the top-tier Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League where they will rub shoulders with the best clubs in the region.

Central FC finished fourth and collected US$15,000 and will enter a play-off on Wednesday at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex against Tier Two (Caribbean Cup Shield) winners Club Franciscain of Martinique for a place also in the 2018 CONCACAF League.

In the final, a dominant but wasteful Arnett Gardens were held to a 0-0 stalemate in normal time and went straight to the dreaded penalty kicks.

Arnett’s Al Nesbeth, who had an outstanding game, watched his long-range scorcher expertly parried by goalkeeper Odalis Baez in the Pantoja goal.

Substitute Jarmar Jackson’s header beat the goalkeeper but crashed onto the crossbar before Lennox Russell watched agonizingly as his shot went past the onrushing goalkeeper but was cleared off the line in the dying minutes.

There was no extra time and in the dreaded shoot-out Arnett Gardens, who kicked second, were always playing catch up and eventually faltered.

Jean Lopez, Nicholas Rebello, Eduardo Centeno and Jesus Quintero scored, while Armando Maita missed the fifth spot kick for Pantoja. Arnett scorers were Lennox Russell, Newton Sterling, Al Nesbeth and Jarmar Jackson. Top scorer Fabian Reid missed the fourth spot kick.

Onto sudden death and Carlos Rossell and goalkeeper Baez netted for Pantoja, while Jabuer Johnson scored, but Jarmar Martin missed for Arnett Gardens.

Earlier, Portmore United defeated Central FC of Trinidad and Tobago 2-1 and grabbed third spot.

Duane Muckette gave Central a 27th-minute lead but Portmore struck back decisively in the second half as the towering Rosario Harriott headed the equaliser in the 50th minute before Jermie Lynch rammed home the winner in minute 63.

The CONCACAF League draw will take place on May 23 in Miami where both Arnett Gardens and Portmore United will know their fate.

Arnett’s head coach Jerome Waite summed up his team’s display as “excellent” against a Pantoja team made of international players from several countries.

“When it came down to the dreaded penalty, that is something that could go any way. What this means for Arnett now is that these players will be exposed to a different level and opportunities will come where they can be seen by scouts and other countries,” Waite said.

Portmore United’s head coach Shavar Thomas is also anxiously awaiting the draw as he will be busy keeping his team training and focused as action for the 2018 Champion League starts in July.

“We would have loved to be in the final to qualify directly to the Champions League but nevertheless I was most happy that we ended with a victory,” said Thomas, who played for a number of teams in the US Major League Soccer over a 10-year span.

The former Reggae Boyz captain played for Dallas Burn, Kansas City Wizards, Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA, Philadelphia Union, Sporting Kansas City, and Montreal Impact.

“This is the platform that we want to put ourselves in year-in year-out at this level because this is where we going to meet the big clubs in CONCACAF,” said Thomas.

Meanwhile, the Fair Play Award went to Central FC of Trinidad and Tobago, while the Golden Glove Award went controversially to Pantoja’s goalkeeper Odalis Baez who conceded three goals in the semi-final compared to Damian Hyatt of Arnett Gardens who kept a clean sheet in both games. The Golden Boots went to Luis Espinal of Pantoja, who scored twice against Portmore United in the semi-final.