Arnett’s coach bemoans ‘hot sun’ match

Arnett Gardens coach, Eric Rademakers, is questioning the rationale for playing their rescheduled match today against Portmore United at Stadium East, at 3:15 p.m. instead of later in the day.

The match will be the second of two at the venue as the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) resumes after a break over the weekend to accommodate the Reggae Girlz two-match series against Paraguay.

Defending champions Harbour View will tackle the Theodore Whitmore-coached Mount Pleasant Football Academy even earlier at 1 p.m. and Rademakers thinks it would be better for all stakeholders for both high-profiled matches to be played later.

"It makes no sense that we are playing three o'clock in the hot sun. I don't understand why. (There will be) no fans, no media. The football is going to be less because the players are going to drain quickly. So what is the advantage, why are we playing three o'clock in the hot sun? I do not get it," he lamented.

He insisted that they will have difficulty recovering for their match on Sunday against Montego Bay United.

"Sunday we have our next match, and three days before our next match we are in the sun hot. They are putting us through rough times when they should be making it easy on us so we can play better football.

"We want the Premier League to get better and more attractive and yet you are putting us at 3 o'clock in the afternoon," he bemoaned.

Nevertheless, the Netherlands-born coach is hoping Arnett can be more efficient when they face their St Catherine opponent.

"We want to be a little more clinical because that is one of the things from last season. We create a lot more than we score, so that ratio has to get a little better," he said.

Both teams have played two matches, with Arnett having two victories and Portmore two draws and despite having a better start than their opponents, Rademakers is wary.

"They always have good players and they are always going to be very motivated to play against us, but we will try to make the most of it and take away their strengths and capitalise on their weaknesses," Rademakers said.

Meanwhile, in the opener, Harbour View with maximum six points from two games and Mount Pleasant with four points after two starts, square off in another enticing fixture.