Adrian Frater, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
FORMER CHAMPIONS Seba United notched their first win of the 2005-2006 Wray & Nephew NPL Competition yesterday when a first-half strike by Kemar James gave them a 1-0 win over Arnett Gardens at Jarrett Park.
"We gave an improved performance over last week and we are very satisfied with this result," said winning coach Paul 'Tegat' Davis. "We are not where we want to be at this time in terms of team chemistry but we expect to get better as the season progresses," he said.
In what was a dominant first-half performance, Seba made up for two early missed chances in the second and eighth minutes by Wilfred Smith when they breached the Arnett Gardens defence in the 25th minute. Omar Reid clip a neat pass to James inside the goal area and he slotted out of the reach of goalkeeper Julien McLeish, making the score 1-0.
Arnett Garden's best chance of the half came in the 42nd minute when Fidel Anderson pounced on a loose ball some 25 yards from goal but his scorching grounder sailed inches wide of the left upright with goalkeeper Alrick Henry stranded on the edge of the goal area.
HEATED SECOND HALF
The second half was more competitive with Arnett Gardens showing some urgency in attack. They came close in the 49th minute when Gregg Taylor got a clear shot on goal but booted wide with the advancing goalkeeper at his mercy.
With both teams tiring late in the game, Seba came perilously close in the 86th minute when a curling shot by James was brilliantly saved by a diving McLeish. Seconds later, Arnett all but drew level when a well-struck shot by Lacon Brissette struck the top of the crossbar and bounced out of play.
"Our discipline was totally lacking and our marking let us down badly," said Arnett's coach, Michael Tulloch. "We just have to get back to the drawing board and regroup. We are not worried because it is still early in the season."
SCOREBOARD
SEBA 1
ARNETT GARDENS 0
Kemar James 25th
