Arnett Gardens FC Head Coach Xavier Gilbert and Portmore United Head Coach Philip Williams says their teams will need to attack more efficiently if they are to progress to the semi-finals of the Wray & Nephew Jamaica Premier League play-offs.

Both sides played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their quarter-final match on Monday at Sabina Park.

Portmore, who finished fourth in the regular season, dominated the first half with Alex Marshall and Stephen Barnett both hitting the woodwork. They would eventually make the breakthrough four minutes before a Philando Wing own goal.

However, they faded in the second half with Arnett taking control with Captain Fabian Reid seeing two close-range efforts being saved by Portmore goalkeeper Tyrone Williams. Reid, though, wouldn’t be denied as he found the equaliser in the 81st minute.

While happy with the turnaround, Gilbert says his team should have been going into the second leg with the advantage.

I thought we didn’t do as best as we should have in the first half but second half, we were a lot better and managed to score. I’m happy we didn’t leave here empty-handed.

“We just weren’t hitting the notes right way and the opponent contributed to that too,” he said. “They were getting their players [like] Alex [Marshall] on the ball which we didn’t want early in the game because we know once they pick up and get a rhythm, things would have been good for them, that curtailed how we wanted to attack them going forward.

“There were moments in the game that we would have done different but as I said to them, with games like these and atmospheres like these, it’s the moments we have to make count. When we have them on the backfoot, we have to make it count. They put us under a little pressure and made it count and we did the same in the second half.”

Williams credited his team for hanging in the game but wanted a more ruthless showing from his forwards.

“It was a rough game for us tonight,” he said. “We played a decent first half, the plan was to press Arnett as much as possible in the first half and create as much moments. The plan worked and with more efficiency in front of goal, we could have gotten more out of the first half but it’s very rough to play a pressing game for 90 minutes and the legs went somewhat in the second half for us.

“[The lack of goals] has been plaguing us for the latter part of the season and has carried into the play-offs. We need to be more efficient in front of goal. We are strong defensively, we work hard in the midfield but in terms of conversion of our chances, that’s an area we need to work on.”

The second leg will take place on Monday at Sabina Park with the winner set for a semifinal match up against last season’s runners up Cavalier.

The winner of the Tivoli Gardens and Waterhouse clash will take on defending champions Mount Pleasant Academy in the last four.