Reid hits magical three figures with Arnett goal
Published:Sunday | March 23, 2025 | 9:54 PMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
ARNETT GARDENS striker Fabian ‘Parko Blacks’ Reid hit a notable career milestone for Arnett Gardens during their Jamaica Premier League (JPL) game against Montego Bay United at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Thursday.
The Arnett Garden front man scored and assisted a goal in their 2-2 draw with third place MoBay, who sit just two points off them in second, and in he process, achieved his 100th senior football career goal.
The 33-year-old put Arnett in front with a classic glancing header from Ricardo Thomas’ cross after 12 minutes, and although Leonard Rankin equalised with a header of his own, Reid set up Shai Smith in first-half stoppage time to put Arnett 2-1 up at half-time.
However, MoBay would salvage a point, thanks to Lucas Lima’s 68th-minute goal.
Satisfied with a point under difficult circumstances, Reid was also elated at reaching the milestone and said doing it against MoBay made it extra special.
“Firstly, I want to say thanks to Father God, my teammates, and the coaching staff because if it was not for them, it would not be possible.
“To travel here and get a draw is a big plus. It is a four to five-hour travel and to come here and get a draw and nearly win, was good.
“To get 100 career goals is a big thing and to get it against a team like MoBay is a big plus,” he stated.
Reid, who originally played for rivals Boys’ Town, is doing his fourth spell with Arnett after playing overseas for clubs such as San Juan Jabloteh in Trinidad, Dila Gori in Georgia, and NEROCA in India, in between.
However, the player, who has won two Premier League titles with Arnett and has scored some of the most spectacular goals in the league, said capitalising on defenders’ and goalkeepers’ mistakes are a big part of the reason he has so many to his tally.
“When the ‘keeper makes a mistake, you as the man upfront have to make sure you punish him. So mistakes are going to be made because nobody is perfect, but it depends on where you make the mistake.
“If you make a mistake in the box and you have a clinical forward like Fabian Reid, he is going to finish. So don’t do that,” he commented.
Arnett stayed second in the table, two points ahead of MoBay and six behind leaders Mount Pleasant.
“From week we have been telling ourselves that we must get a point. We are not supposed to leave here without a point or a win.
“We went for the win but we lapsed in the last and gave up a goal. We took the lead twice, so you can see we tried to get the win. But we got the point and we are still ahead of them,” said Reid.
Arnett assistant Garnet Lawrence said the aim is to, at the very least, secure second place.
“It was very important not to lose. So both of us now have to manage our games and our times. If we had lost they would have leapfrogged us and we would be chasing.
“So we let them continue to chase and let them see how it is to be chasing. We will try our best to keep that focus, and we have cut a little bit into Mount Pleasant’s lead now that they are idle. So they now have a little pressure coming back with the extra games and they will have to win to stay ahead,” he said.
MoBay assistant coach Dillion Thellwell said it was two points lost, after creating the bulk of the chances over the game.
“It was a good performance. But this game should be finished by first half. We got a lot of chances. We just failed to put the ball in the back of the net.
“When Arnett took the lead. We knew we had gas in the tank. When you are playing a team in second and you are in third, you want to make sure you beat that team and replace them,” he said.