Arnett’s Gilbert remains confident despite dip in form
TUCKER, St James — Xavier Gilbert, the head coach at Arnett Gardens, says he is not concerned about the team’s form — a run that has seen them drop to fifth in the points table in the Jamaica Premier League.
Arnett Gardens, who were in contention for the lead, have picked up one point from their last two games after being held 0-0 by Montego Bay United in their return-round game on Sunday at Wespow Park, after giving up a lead and losing to Tivoli Gardens in the previous round.
“I mean, two tough games, we knew it was going to be tough coming here, they have been in good form since January, it is what it is, we wanted three points but nevertheless we got a point,” said Gilbert.
A fourth draw this season has thrown a wrench in the Junglists’ spoke with Arnett Gardens sitting on 34 points from their 18 games but Gilbert is focusing on the positives, well aware of the challenges in playing in the second city.
“It’s tough to play here but it is what we have to work with it and so we just have to take the point, move on and look to the next game and continue to grow,” he said.
Meanwhile, it was a different tone from Montego Bay United’s Head Coach Neider dos Santos, who was clearly not happy with the result and described the game as “ugly”. He, however, remained confident that his team is still in the race for a play-off spot.
The teams combined for a mere handful of scoring chances, the best ones falling to the home team but goalkeeper William Ferreira pulled off a smart double save while on the ground in the second half to keep his team in the game.
Gilbert admitted there were things his team could have done better.
“I wasn’t pleased with a lot of things, we were not as good as we should have been and there are areas that disappointed me,” Gilbert said. “[However], if you don’t have one of your best games away from home against a good team and you get a point, you have to be grateful.”
“I don’t think we managed the game as best as possible. I don’t think [we did well in] areas that we should have exploited and how we started out was not how we wanted to start,” he added.
Dos Santos said that his team approached the contest as big game against a big team and tried to win but it was a match that had very few goal opportunities.
“None of the midfield had the control of the game, because it was very physical, lots of long balls and we failed in our last third. I mean, we tried to get some good crosses from one side to another and that never happened, so it was one of those days so we cannot complain,” said Dos Santos.
A play-off spot is still possible with eight games to go until the end of the second round, dos Santos noted before adding that he is expecting a tough challenge throughout.
“Any team in Jamaica can drop points against any team, we have seen that already, it’s a long time to go, a lot of points to get,” he said.