Chairman of Arnett Gardens FC and Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding was left delighted on Monday night as his team got the better of Waterhouse FC 1-0 in a thrilling encounter at Sabina Park.

The win moved Arnett up to second place in the league, to end the first round of the Jamaica Premier League.

In giving his review of the game, Golding said he thought his team could have won by an even bigger margin.

“I thought it was a good game, a competitive game. I thought the result was fair. In fact, it could have been more one-sided than it was, in terms of the result, because there were a couple of very good chances which didn’t go in for Arnett.”

He also paid respect to his team’s opponents on the night, even while revelling in the win.

“Waterhouse are a formidable opponent, they are a strong team and so being able to keep a clean sheet against them and a win, I am very pleased with that result.”

Golding praised the impact that Head Coach Paul “Tegat” Davis and the rest of his coaching staff has had on the team, since the start of the season.

“I think Tegat has brought something that we needed. He is a strong disciplinarian and obviously experienced and himself a former national baller and of course, the (assistant) coach from the Netherlands, Eric (Rademakers), has also brought a dimension which is important. They work well together it seems, so overall I think the team is gelling nicely and we look forward to doing well this season.”

He acknowledged that with the way things are shaping up, there is belief that the team could go all the way this season.

“We have hopes and we are looking forward to it.”

There was some amount of upheaval when Golding took over the club two years ago, which led to some significant changes in how it was run, but he believes that time is proving him right.

“I am very happy. It was a difficult period when we took over…there was a total change of philosophy as to how the club should be run [and] what we were trying to do.

“I was really trying to build a sustainable organisation in a community which is a low-income area, so how we achieve a sustainable professional football organisation there is challenging. But we have a strategy and we are executing and we are seeing the results. So yes, I am feeling good about it and I am hoping it can continue,” he surmised.

Arnett never made the play-offs last year but have looked a much better team this season and seem set to be in the shakeup at the end of the regular season this time around.

— Dwayne Richards