Nodley Wright, Freelance Writer
Lowe
ONANDI LOWE, who has made a habit of scoring on his club debuts, did just that yesterday when he stooped low to head home in the 90th minute to give Arnett Gardens a 1-0 win over Village United at Elliston Wakeland Centre.
While Lowe was responsible for Arnett's win, it was far from one of his most commanding performances, as for most of the first half he looked like a fighter suffering from ring rust.
He lifted his game in the second half as he became more involved and threatening to Allien Whittaker's goal.
It was a cruel way to lose for Village United, which fielded mostly young and inexperienced players. For all of the game they gave as much as they got and had even more opportunities than Arnett Gardens to score.
Despite the flow of the game, Arnett Gardens coach, Michael Tulloch, was more than happy with the result.
A TOUGH GAME
"Well, the game was a tough one. We came to their home ground and we expect to fight all the time on the road but our team did not let up and we fought all the way and, as we say, the game is not over until the last whistle. We got the goal in the 90th minute which is good."
Tulloch was particularly pleased with the display of Lowe, a player he had said prior to the match that even at 65 per cent was good enough to do the job required.
"Well, you see people who are professional players will always apply themselves in a different way. They know how to pace themselves," he said in reference to Lowe.
He added: "Not being fit, they know how to pace themselves to last a 90-minute game and that is what Onandi did today. He told us before the game that he would have scored and he did score to give us the victory."
Village's Dr. Dean Weatherly was a man of mixed feelings.
HARD LOSS TO SWALLOW
"Definitely, definitely this one is hard to swallow," he said refecting his disappointment. "One of my philosophies is that when you get the chances if you don't make use of them you give the other team life to come back at you."
His team, Dr. Weatherly said, got "two to three clear chances one-on-one with the goalkeeper in the first half, and we did not put them away. In the second half two or three went abegging the same way".
On a more positive note, he was encouraged by the fighting display put on by the youngsters who contested every ball.
"On the flip side, you tend to look on and say to yourself that it was a job well done. They played well, they gave their all and that is how you can console yourself at this time. Based on what you have seen, all I can say is that Village is here to stay and I can safely say that this is probably the smoke before the fire," Dr. Weatherly offered.
