Howard Walker, Staff Reporter

Arnett Gardens' Leon Strickland (right) is congratulated by Loxley Thompson after scoring a goal in their Wray and Nephew National Premier League match against Naggo Head at the Tony Spaulding Sports Complex yesterday. Thompson scored the other goal in Arnett's 2-0 win. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

Arnett Gardens rebounded from last week's defeat with a comfortable 2-0 win over Naggo Head at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex last night.

The diminutive Loxley Thompson in the 17th and the competition's leading marksman, Leon Strickland, in the 44th secured the home team's victory.

Thompson rifled a thunderous shot into the roof of the net after being teed up by Marcelino Blackburn, while Strickland's low drive went under the goalkeeper from close range.

Arnett, in registering their seventh win of the 2006-07 campaign, move to 23 points and into fifth position ahead of Tivoli Gardens on goal difference.

Glendon 'Admiral' Bailey, coach of Arnett Gardens, said his team followed the game plan very well, hence the comfortable result.

Said Bailey: "We handled ourselves well in achieving what we set out to do in terms of keeping possession and moving the football around."

The red-and-black-clad Arnett Gardens are 10 points behind leaders Waterhouse on 33 points but coach Bailey is not writing off his team's chances.

"We just want to position ourselves the right way. Basically it is a two-year plan, but (I'm) not saying that if we see the opportunity to win the league, we won't try and do so," noted Bailey.

Meanwhile, Wayne Fair-clough, coach of relegation favourites Naggo Head, was not pleased with the result, but thought his team played well.

Said Fairclough: "I think we played some very good football. We played good enough to win today but goalscoring is a problem within our ranks."

Wasted chances

Naggo Head are rooted to the bottom of the league on three points from 15 games, scoring only 10 times while conceding a whopping 30 goals, a problem Fairclough is cognisant of but finding hard to solve based on the club's financial woes and lack of quality players.

"We could have done the job but we squandered a lot of chances and that's an ongoing story for us. How we are going to mend it is a problem."

He continued: "We need to get some players and we are looking at them, but they want to go to other clubs because we are lacking confidence and not getting the job done. It will be harder for us to get them."

Arnett Gardens