Men's 4th Team vs Western Springs Wombats

This weekend saw the Senior Men’s 4th Team in action at home against Western Springs Wombats and unlike last week we were able to field a full strength squad.  Both teams got stuck in from the off and the first half saw the Pukekohe players put in a strong, well disciplined performance.  Despite creating a number of chances the score remained 0-0 at half-time, but with the team confident of making the most of their chances in the second half.

Sure enough Pukekohe started the second half strongly with Thomas Sutcliffe coming close with two long range efforts before finally making it third time lucky and 1-0 up.  Our lead could have increased a short while later when Western Springs conceded a penalty, only for Pete Wild to see his spot kick saved by the keeper.  Pukekohe kept plugging away and created several more goalscoring opportunities.  Eventually sustained pressure on the Western Springs defence caused them to concede a corner, which led to a well taken goal by player-coach Peter Sutcliffe following a quality delivery from Roly McKenzie.  Pukekohe kept the pressure on right up to the final whistle, with the full-time result a well deserved 2-0 win.

There were some good individual performances this week and most importantly a solid team performance which will stand us in good stead for the coming season.  Menno Boxem was a reassuring figure in goal and the defence was superbly marshalled by Peter Sutcliffe and Marty Bennett.  Gavin Speight made an impressive senior debut at right-back and player of the day honours went to Rhys Newton for a determined defensive display after coming on at left-back.  The midfield worked tirelessly throughout the game, supporting both the defence and the strike force of Pete Wild and Colin Case, who linked well with the midfield and posed a constant threat to the opposition goal.  Without doubt the most pleasing aspect of this week’s victory was that it was as result of a confident team effort, especially given that this was effectively the first time that the full squad had played together.

Special thanks to Glenn for officiating and Roger for running the line, much appreciated as always.  Another home game coming up so hopefully we can build on this weekend’s performance ...

Team: Menno Boxem, Gavin Speight, Martin Bennett, Peter Sutcliffe, Shane Craig, Dave Wadeley, Thomas Sutcliffe, Corey Sims, Craig Morgan, Peter Wild, Colin Case, Roly McKenzie, Daniel Berry, Rhys Newton

Goalscorers: Thomas Sutcliffe, Peter Sutcliffe

Final Score: Pukekohe 2 – Western Springs Wombats 0

Next Fixture: Home v South Auckland Rangers Tavua, Saturday 24th April (kick off 1:00pm, Bledisloe Park)