Arnett Gardens Head Coach Jerome Waite has praised his team for advancing, under difficult circumstances, to the final round of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship, upon their return to the island yesterday.

“We left Jamaica with one objective and we accomplished that objective. It wasn’t an easy one,” Waite told the

Jamaica Observer.

Arnett Gardens won all three games in Group Four after blanking America FC of Haiti 3-0, whipping SV Notch of Suriname 8-4, then edging host Club Atlético Pantoja 1-0 for maximum nine points in a bruising encounter in wet underfoot conditions.

“No premier league game locally was so physical. It was more than a physical game and the condition took away the level that we were looking forward to because it was really raining. The surface was slippery; it wasn’t easy, but it’s another hurdle that the team climbed over and a good achievement,” he pointed out.

“When we identified where we were going to train; the distance we have to travel to and from; the training times and times in between games, we knew that that couldn’t work. If I took that route we wouldn’t be victorious. But what I did was utilise the pool to recover from lactic acid,” he explained.

Arnett Gardens will face CFU Group One winners, Trinidad and Tobago powerhouse W Connection, in the final round involving the four group winners.

“We face another seven weeks to prepare for that. When we go back home we will have to shift the focus back to the Premier League and at the same time strengthen these players that they can be competitive at that (CFU) level,” said Waite.

“The majority of these players who played for the first time, it really opened their eyes and they realised what to expect going forward.

“W Connection is one of the top teams in the Caribbean and we cannot take them lightly, so we will have to step up on our intensity,” he said.

Having won their first two games rather easily, Arnett Gardens faced a hyped-up home team Pantoja, backed by a vociferous home crowd, but they showed true grit and determination to prevail.

With both teams sitting on six points atop of the group, Arnett Gardens with a better goal difference only needed a draw to advance, but with the field soaked by persistent rain, the normally free-flowing Arnett Gardens had to adjust their style and literally slugged it out with a very physical Pantoja outfit.

In the end they survived the bombardment and hit Pantoja on a counter-attack in which Leon Strickland calmly slotted home in the 72nd minute.

Michealos Martin, who scored three goals in Arnett’s 8-4 victory over SV Notch and one goal in the 3-0 win over America FC, finished the tournament as the leading goalscorer and Most Valuable Player, and Waite had high praises for him.

“Michealos has been knocking at the door for the past two seasons. A youngster coming out of Charlie Smith, lost the Manning Cup final and was the leading goalscorer in 2011. He played a major role in winning the championship and it’s a turning point for him,” said Waite.

“I hope he looks at himself with a bright future and I am hoping that in the near future he can be a part of the national set-up as well. He has quality, a lot to learn and is still pretty young,” Waite added.

Jamaica’s other team, Montego Bay United, will start their Group Three campaign tomorrow.