The inaugural staging of the Boom El Clasico proved to be an exciting and explosive one at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex on Monday night.

The third match of a triple header was played in front of a full house as Jamaica Premier League teams Arnett Gardens and Waterhouse gave spectators a taste of what is to come when the new season begins this coming weekend.

The El Clasico is a new concept introduced by the Professional Football Jamaica Limited (PFJL) as a pre-season friendly to prepare fans for the start of the new season and it provided the prefect backdrop as the two well-supported teams put on a riveting display of football in a match that was decided by penalty kicks.

In the end it was the hosts, Arnett Gardens, who prevailed 3-2 on penalties after the game finished at 1-1 at the end of full time.

The hosts began the game on the front foot, pushing back the visitors and causing them many problems in defence.

Captain Romeo Guthrie, Fabian Reid and Marlon Allen were all presented with chances to put Arnett Gardens ahead while at the other end Denardo Thomas should have scored with a point-blank header.

After both teams had fluffed their lines, Arnett were then presented with a golden opportunity to take the lead when they awarded a penalty kick but a brilliant double-save by national representative Kemar Foster from former Reggae Boy Fabian Reid kept the game scoreless at half-time.

Foster kept up his fine performance in goal for Waterhouse in the second half, leaving his line just in time to block a ball with his face and prevent Arnett from taking the lead early after the restart.

But the hosts kept pressing and were eventually rewarded when Gerald Neil blasted home to give them the lead in the 71st minute to the delight of the home fans.

However, the lead did not last very long as a sweet strike from outside the area from Donte Duncan in the 75th minute pulled Waterhouse level.

With a $1 million up for grabs for the winners and $500,000 for the losers, both teams pressed on the accelerator to claim the main prize but there were to be no more goals inside the 90 minutes, sending the contest directly to penalty kicks.

Eric Edwards, also a national goalkeeper, had not been called upon as much as his counterpart, Foster, during regulation time, but in the penalty shoot-out he came up very big for his team.

He saved the first two penalties taken by Waterhouse and then took the third one for his team to give them an early 2-1 advantage but when Phillando Wing was presented with the chance to win the game for Arnett, he sent his shot crashing against the crossbar as Waterhouse clung on to hopes of sudden death when Kenroy Howell scored.

But Rushike Kelson was calm and composed as he stroked home the final penalty, sending Foster the wrong way, to seal the win for Arnett in the first staging of the Boom El Clasico.

Arnett Gardens Head Coach Paul Davis is predicting an “intense” season based on what he saw on Monday night.

“This premier league is going to be like this, intense. We are one of the teams that haven’t gotten in many players like the other teams, our under-20, we carried up six players.

“Dunbeholden, Mount Pleasant, they got players, so it’s going to be intense, the entire season, so we are preparing ourselves for it,” he said.

Arnett Gardens used a number of young players in the El Clasico and Davis explained why he did so despite receiving pushback.

“We started our pre-season late, so I made some changes that most people didn’t like, but I needed to see my under-20 players in this type of situation.

“They lived up to expectations and after a game like this, I can guarantee you that we will get things from them,” he said, feeling vindicated.

Davis is hoping to guide his team to the premier league final this season after coming very close last season.