Ryon Jones, Staff Reporter

Cavalier's coach David Laylor believes youth is the way forward for the club after they were handed their fourth defeat in six games on Thursday evening when they were beaten 1-0 by Red Stripe Premier League leaders Arnett Gardens at the Anthony Spaulding Complex.

A spectacular overhead kick by Kemal Malcolm in the 12th minute was enough to condemn Cavalier to consecutive defeats and leave them in eighth position on six points.

Arnett's Ricardo Oldham who collapsed on the field in the 89th minute and was revived on the sidelines after being stretchered off was rushed to the Kingston Public Hospital where he was treated for dehydration and released.

"We realised that we should have started with some of the youngsters that we put in the game tonight, because they showed true quality and true grit," Laylor stated. "So going forward we will be playing more of these youngsters to get better results."

Balance of Seniors and Juniors

He added: "The senior players bring stability to a certain extent, but at this level you need the eagerness and the youngsters bring that to the table. So we just have to find the right blend of young and senior players and see what we can get out of it."

Cavalier have found the going challenging in the 12-team league so far, as they boast the joint third worst offensive record with just four goals in six matches while their seven goals conceded also sees them joint third for the worst defensive.

Despite notching their fourth win in five games to climb to 13 points and remain the only unbeaten team in the league, Arnett were not at their best against Cavalier.

Malcolm gave his team a deserved lead in the 12th minute when he executed a brilliant overhead kick from the edge of the six-yard box after Leon Strickland's shot had rebounded off the crossbar.

Arnett's game, however, seemed to gradually decline in intensity as the contest went on with Cavalier creating some good half chances to pull level, but lacked the quality needed in the final third.

"This team (Cavalier) is our practice team, we practised with them a lot in the preseason, from last year until now, so it is going to be a game like this," Arnett Garden's coach Paul 'Tegat' Davis said. "Overall, I think we did what we had to do to win the game," he added.

ryon.jones@gleanerjm.com