Photo: Mitchly Waul of Boys Town drives away from Vishinul Harris of Arnett Gardens during the 3-3 draw in the latest edition of the Collie Smith Drive derby on Sunday.
A pulsating Collie Smith Drive derby, played at the Collie Smith Oval, ended in a frenetic 3-3 draw between hosts Boys Town and fierce rivals Arnett Gardens, as action continued in the Red Stripe Premier League on Sunday.
Goals from veterans Xavian Virgo for Boys Town and Kevin “Pele” Wilson for Arnett Gardens had left the teams tied at 1-1 at the interval before an explosive second half, in which three goals were scored in the space of six minutes and had the capacity stadium rocking in a thrilling afternoon of football.
A typical derby start, on a hard dry surface which was also being affected by a strong wind, was blown wide open by a wonder strike from Boys Town right back Virgo. Boys Town were awarded a free kick on the edge of the area and the former Reggae Boy stepped up to curl the ball just inside the right upright, leaving goalkeeper Damian Hyatt rooted to the spot.
A rough and tumble first half played itself out and was characterized by hard fouls and saw a yellow card being issued to a member of each team, one to Rafiek Shaw of Boys Town and the other to Oniel “Bigga” Thompson of Arnett Gardens.
Just when it seemed that the hosts would go in with the lead at half time, Wilson grabbed the equalizer, a minute before the break, when he hooked home an effort which crashed in off the crossbar beyond a hapless Kirk Porter in the Boys Town goal.
Four minutes after the restart, Arnett Gardens could have been ahead but for the width of the crossbar. Vishinul Harris beat two defenders with a mazy dribble into the box before laying off to an unmarked Marvin “Missa-Man” Morgan who could only watch in agony as his shot from just inside the area, cannoned of the crossbar and back into play.
Two minutes later Arnett managed to take the lead for the first time in the game when Kenniel Hyde headed home directly from a corner kick.
But Boys Town were not about to roll over and play dead and in the 67th minute they came close when a curling effort from the outside of the right boot of Garfield Gillespie went just wide of the left upright.
Then on minute 73 the home team drew level at 2-2 when an unmarked Andre Dawson, who came on as a substitute, headed home a Virgo free kick from 16 yards.
With the momentum and the crowd fully behind them, the Andrew Price coached team went on the hunt for the go-ahead goal. Another veteran, Peter Keyes went on a threatening dribble inside the box but could not free the ball from under his feet, to get off a proper strike on goal.
Then four minutes after the equalizer, Thomas scored a blinder of a goal when he combined neatly with Andre Dawson for a beautiful give and go on the edge of the area before turning and firing a screamer that only the net could stop.
The spectators erupted as their team took the lead for the second time in the match. Their cheers grew even wilder when Hyatt had to get down low to his left to pull off a spectacular one handed save from Keyes after he and Gillespie combined to good effect just outside the box.
The cheers were loud and the place was in a frenzy, but all that was silenced moments later, when Wilson beat Porter from close range to bag his brace and draw the visitors level for the second time in the match and end the scoring at 3-3 in yet another cracking Collie Smith derby.
Andrew Price was left bemoaning the missed opportunity to claim all three points as his team battles against relegation.
“I am very disappointed with the result today,” he said. “We definitely gave up points today. We were very inconsistent. We had to dig in to find the equalizer but then a bad mistake from an experience defender cost us in the end.”
Price is however clear on what is required of his team to ensure safety and top flight football for yet another season.
“We need to accumulate points for the remainder of the season. We need to win at home and at least draw the games on the road. There are only four games left to play so that should be enough for us.”
Meanwhile Arnett Gardens head coach Jerome Waite was bemoaning the state of the playing surface more than the result of the game.
“This type of surface is not good enough for top flight football,” he complained. “It is too hard and could lead to leg injuries for the players.”
He was however fairly satisfied to come away with a point.
“I have to give credit to Boys Town. They came from behind to stretch the Arnett Gardens team but in the end the veteran Kevin Wilson got the equalizer for us, he got a brace. I always say, away from home if you can’t get a win, get a point.”
Boys Town now moves to 34 points and virtual safety after both teams occupying the cellar positions, Reno and Barbican, suffered losses at home.
Arnett have already qualified for the semi-final round and maintain their six point advantage at the top after second place Waterhouse and third place Montego Bay United drew 0-0 at Wespow Park.
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