Captain Andre Guthrie led from the front as Arnett Gardens secured three important points against Dunbeholden as a result of his 9th-minute goal at the Anthony Spalding Sports Complex in Arnett Gardens on Sunday.

The 1-0 win for the third-placed team saw them cut the gap on the top two teams from seven to four points, with league leaders Waterhouse away playing in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

Guthrie was left beaming with pride after the effort his teammates produced under the most difficult of circumstances against a very good Dunbeholden team.

“I feel very proud of the guys. Apart from the goal that I scored for the team, I think the team did a great job by sticking together. Despite the two red cards, we stuck to the game plan and fought to the end.”

Arnett was down to ten men after only 23 minutes when defender Ajuma Johnson was shown a straight red card for violent conduct. They were then down to nine after Earl Simpson received two yellow cards in the space of ten minutes and was given his marching orders by referee Nerrisa Goldson in the 68th minute.

Guthrie said his team relied on memory to cope with the situation as they stuck together to secure all three points.

“We did it earlier in the season when we played against Mobay (Montego Bay United), so we kept the momentum, stayed together and fought to the end.”

A surprise loss to Vere United was followed by a draw with Montego Bay United in their two previous games, which had seen Arnett lose touch with the league leaders. This magnified the significance of the win over Dunbeholden on Sunday as they have now re-engaged the top two.

“It was very important. We needed these three points. The fact that we dropped points against the two teams in the relegation zone, we definitely needed these three points to keep ourselves up in the table,” said Guthrie.

With four games remaining in their regular season, the captain is still of the belief that Arnett Gardens can finish at the top of the table.

“I feel that we can do it. We have the momentum and that’s been our plan from day one. We just have to keep on working and take it one game at a time.”

Arnett will face Molynes United next Monday as they keep up the push for a top-two finish.