Arnett Gardens Captain Fabian Reid has hailed his team’s resilience after his stoppage time winner secured their spot in the semifinals of the Wray & Nephew Jamaica Premier League Playoffs.

The “Junglists” beat Portmore United 1-0 in their second-leg quarter-final on Monday at Sabina Park to advance 2-1 on aggregate in an exciting contest.

Arnett created a number of goal-scoring opportunities throughout the game but were unable to make the breakthrough.

Willis and Kaheim Dixon both hit the woodwork and Reid was denied by Portmore goalkeeper Benjamin Williams, who produced a fine save to keep the score level.

Portmore had a few opportunities as well with their best chance falling to leading scorer Chevaughn Walsh but he was unable to beat goalkeeper Eric Edwards.

However, in the 90th minute, a well-worked team move was tucked away by Reid from close range to send Arnett into the last four where they will face Cavalier.

Reid says he was confident that his team would be victorious.

“It was a fighting performance from the get-go right until the end, we never say die, we never until the last whistle blew. It’s overwhelming because a lot of people are depending on Arnett and it’s the fans that are passionate about their football, so we told ourselves that we need this one and [now] we have to take it one game at a time,” Reid said.

Arnett Gardens Head Coach Xavier Gilbert was full of praise for Reid, whose contributions have led them to the semis.

“He’s a true legend. He’s been carrying the goalscorer tag for years now and continues to do it. He served his purpose and he’s deserving and he’s a good leader, a true leader. We rely heavily on him, he’s our leading goalscorer, played half the season and he’s right up there with those who have played the whole season,” Gilbert stated.

After failing to beat Portmore in his three previous attempts, Gilbert was elated to get over the hump at the right time.

“To be in the semi-finals and working with these players is a good feeling. Today we started much better, the games we played against Portmore [before] we didn’t start as well as we should, but we made some tactical adjustments and it paid dividends for us. We were at them from the get-go, we didn’t allow them to settle and we dominated for the most part. There was never a moment where we weren’t getting opportunities to score,” he added.

While pleased with aspects of his team’s performance, Portmore United Head Coach Philip Williams was unhappy with their lack of efficiency in front of goal.

“We had ambitions of going further in the competition so we’re very disappointed in the result. I think we made some adjustments from the first game and we were in the game for much longer periods this time around. I take my hat off to the boys in terms of their tactical adjustment, but it’s a game of fine margins and unfortunately we didn’t put away our chances,” he said.

Arnett Gardens will now take on last season’s beaten finalists Cavalier in the two-legged semifinals, starting next Monday.