Arnett dethrones Waterhouse in tame Jackie Bell Final

Photo:  Jason Moore strokes home from the penalty spot to give Arnett Gardens a 13th minute the lead in the Jackie Bell Knock Out final against Waterhouse FC on Sunday. Arnett Gardens ran out 2-1 winners to lift the title for the seventh time.

Arnett Gardens FC took advantage of an under strength Waterhouse FC, despite themselves missing a few key players, to claim their record seventh hold on the KSAFA Jackie Bell Knock Out title on Sunday, winning 2-1 in front of a somber crowd at the Sabina Park.

First half goals from Jason Moore and Newton Sterling proved enough to secure the contest for Arnett with a second half strike from Jermaine ‘Tuffy’ Anderson proving to be no more than a consolation in a game that failed to spark for much of the 90 minutes.

The defending champions failed to respond to the opening whistle and Arnett Gardens, still smarting from the RSPL semi-final exit, took full advantage to grab the early initiative when Moore gave them the lead from the penalty spot in the 13^th minute. Referee Carl Tyrell had no hesitation in pointing to the spot when Moore himself was brought down in the area by Carlos Wright. The midfielder brushed himself off and sent Rushane Patterson the wrong way to give the ‘Junglists’ the lead.

Arnett continued to dominate the contest and Patterson was again soon in the action, turning a Marvin Morgan strike from just outside the area, around the post to keep his team in the contest.

Waterhouse tried to play their way back into the contest and they almost got a sniff when Kemar Beckford played in Anderson but the ball saw stolen off the toes of the striker before he could pull the trigger.

Arnett then doubled their lead when the industrious Neicko Williams went down the left flank and crossed to an unmarked Sterling who could not miss from inside the six yard box, side-footing home in the 30^th minute.

Arnett then took their foot off the pedal and allowed their opponents back into the game. The always lively Beckford took advantage of the space offered to him to have a go at the Arnett defenders but could find no way through.

The closest Waterhouse would come in the first half was when captain Hughan Gray had a good exchange with Beckford down the left channel before the former Reggae Boy dragged his effort wide of the far post with the goalkeeper at his mercy.

Down 2-0 at the break, the Anthony Patrick coached team seemed to awaken from their slumber at the start of the second half and were dragged back into the contest by Anderson who blasted home a rebound from point blank range to make it 2-1 in the 54^th minute.

Waterhouse then had a strong appeal for a penalty waived by Tyrell a few minutes later as they threatened to take total control of the game.

This stung Arnett back into action and Waterhouse were then thanking their lucky stars when a Sterling header from an Oniel Thompson free kick landed harmlessly on the roof of the net.

Sterling again threatened when he out jumped his marker, but his header from inside the area went just over the crossbar.

With time winding down, Sean Coleman had a glorious opportunity to draw Waterhouse level, but he failed to make proper contact with the ball when totally unmarked inside the area, leaving Peter Harrison with an easy save to make.

Beckford continued to hunt for the equalizer for his team and his driving cross late in the game, was just out of the reach of a sliding effort from substitute Stephorn Brown. That proved to be the last action of the game as Arnett Gardens lifted the title to become the team with the most wins in the competition.

“This is a consolation…to see the team bounce back from the semi-final loss (in the Red Stripe Premier League) and to come out victorious, the fact that we were not a full strength due to injuries, it’s good. Congrats to the boys, they have done well,” said a pleased Jerome Waite.