By Audley Boyd, Staff ReporterWITH the Western Union Super Cup safely in the bag National Premier League champions Arnett Gardens have set their sights on another international trophy - the Miami Cup.
Apart from Arnett Gardens, champion teams from Colombia, Haiti and hosts Miami Athletic Club will challenge for top honours in the Florida competition that is set to run from November 29 to December 2, with all games at the Orange Bowl.
Arnett won a two-game tourney against the Cayman nationals at the weekend after a 2-0 victory and 1-1 draw months ago and club coach Jerome Waite said the homesters have improved and such exposure is helping their football.
"The Cayman team made a lot of improvements. It is doing a lot for Cayman as well," said Waite.
The national champions beat fellow Premier League stalwarts Harbour View Football Club 2-0 with a double from former Jamaica player Adonis Maxwell; then drew goalless with Cayman Islands' national team to top the round robin championship table on four points.
The hosts, which had drawn 2-2 against Harbour View, ended second on two points while Harbour View ended with a point from the draw that was achieved with two goals from Daniel Shaw.
"We look forward to two weeks time to enter the inaugural Miami Cup which is another big international competition, in which we'll be representing Jamaica," said Patrick Roberts, president of Arnett Gardens which returned to the island yesterday after winning the three-team Cayman tournament.
He added: "It was a joy to win our first international championship and with the motivation from the management and players on a whole, the sky's the limit for Arnett Gardens Football Club."
Waite was equally elated about their victory.
He said: "I'm feeling good. It's the first time that we've entered in the Western Union Super Cup and the players really stuck to the task. Being up against the defending champions Harbour View, it was really a challenge."
Harbour View's coach, Peter Cargill, said even though they lost the title they won last year the competition was good as it gave them increased opportunity to prepare for the national league.
Meanwhile, Roberts expressed "thanks" to national airline Air Jamaica for providing them with a charter flight after cancelling the original flight out yesterday as "...the next one (flight) wouldn't have left before Tuesday morning. But being champions they sent a charter flight and catered for accommodation and meals for the entire 36-member delegation."
