Substitutes complete job for Arnett Gardens

Arnett Gardens coach Jerome Waite must have felt like a genius on Thursday night as his late second-half substitutions, particularly the last two, paid rich dividends.

Needing three points from an ugly top-of-the-table Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) game punctuated by sometimes violent challenges, one of which saw Waterhouse's Rohan Amos get ejected, Waite first injected the pint-sized Alanzo Adlam in the 69th minute. That was followed by the double introduction of Marcelino Blackburn and the veteran Kevin 'Pele' Wilson in the 84th minute.

Adlam scored the winner in a 1-0 victory a minute later

but his goal was made by Blackburn and Wilson.

The left-footed Blackburn found Wilson on the left flank and the former national representative made room for himself before directing in a delightful cross on to the head of Adlam which not even his height challenge could cause him to miss. It was job done.

The win increased Arnett Gardens' points tally to 48 points and widened their gap at the top of the table over Waterhouse to seven points. That brought pleasure to the Arnett Gardens fraternity and especially Wilson.

"I think I bring something different. When I am on the field they (my teammates) listen to me. It is like I am a coach out there. I have experiences that I share with them and I try to do that. That is what I did when I went out there and they responded," the 37-year-old Wilson said of his impact on the game.

winning goal

Wilson said that limbering up to get on the field he was thinking of scoring the winning goal but getting a win for the team was more important to him than personal acclaim.

"I was looking to scoring the goal but I played a part in getting us the win and that is important too. In fact, coach sent me out there with the instruction to get the guys organised so that we could get the job done. That is what I did, the changes were wonderful and I am happy," explained the club veteran.

He added: "I always want to contribute to my team and sometimes that means to play a supporting role. Sometimes you just have to encourage. People sometimes express surprise that I am still playing but I can still do it so I do".