Jamaica Gleaner
Published: Tuesday | December 15, 2009
Home : Sport
Waterhouse continues to thrive with teamwork
Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer


Maxwell

Waterhouse coach Geoffrey Maxwell is crediting teamwork for his Drewsland club's continuous improvement in the Digicel Premier League.

The much-travelled Maxwell, who came under heavy pressure at the start of the season after his team failed to get a point in any of its first five matches (lost four, had points deducted for the other drawn encounter for using an ineligible player), says a realisation on the part of the players of the importance of unity has made a big impact on their performance and this is the reason why midway the second round of the competition they are within six points of the leaders.

Building confidence

"The team's confidence has been building day by day," said Maxwell. "What has made a difference I believe is that the players have started to realise the importance of playing together as a team."

Maxwell was speaking after his team's hard-fought 1-0 win over Arnett Gardens at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex late Sunday.

The victory was set up by long-standing forward, Kevin Lamey, whose glancing header five minutes before the half-time break silenced the home team and whipped Waterhouse's travelling and flag-bearing supporters into a frenzy.

"Individual flair is good yes, but if your are going to win championships it has to be teamwork," stressed Maxwell. "Tonight (Sunday) we came to play good football, but it did not work out as we wanted.

"But nevertheless we got the result we wanted in the end. It's an ugly win, but three valuable points," added Maxwell.

The win, which was Waterhouse's third in their last four outings, moved the Drewsland team to fifth on 27 points - the same as fourth-place Boys' Town and six points adrift of Harbour View, who beat Portmore United 1-0 at Ferdie Neita Park in their night encounter.

Defending champions Tivoli Gardens, 32, and St George's, 31, are the other teams in the top five.

"It's tough to play at home and lose," said Arnett Gardens' coach, Fabian Davis, whose team has failed to win a match in their last four games. "We just have to remain focus and try harder in our next game."

The defeat left Arnett seventh on 19 points, seven above bottom-place August Town.


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