Tony Wisnewski posted on August 30, 2006 17:16
The Division 1 team did itself no favours 2 weekends ago when they lost 1-0 to second place Bay Olympic in a game which they dominated possession and had many chances to score. It left Pukekohe first on the table by 3 goals over Bay, both teams on 18 points.
Pukekohe faced Fencibles in their last match, while Bay Olympic played 3 Kings. Bay needed to win by 4 more goals than Puke to take the championship, so 3 points and goals to boot was the order of the day for Pukekohe coach Tony Wisnewski.
It started well, with a great long ball played by Thomas Sutcliffe into the path of Jamie Pegg who slotted past the keeper. 1-0 Puke. Scott Cameron finally did what he'd been attempting all season (not the bicycle kick which would have earned him 10 of the coaches hard earned dollars) but a cross sent in from wide on the left which slipped into the top right corner. He had hit the crossbar in numerous other games. 2-0 Puke.
At half time Puke had the 3 points sealed, with Fencibles lucky to have got near the Puke goal once in that half. The 2 goal margin meant Bay had to win by an unlikely 6, so things were looking good. The second half was all Pukekohe, with numerous saves having to be made by the Fencible keeper. The first goal of the second half was an absolute screamer, unfortunately Jamie's 30m effort which smashed into the back support bar of the goal was too quick for the referee as well as the goalie and it was not awarded. Jamie soon got his second with a nicely timed chip over the stranded keeper. Many other chances could have seen the team win 5 or 6 nil, but it stayed at 3.
It was time to wait anxiously to hear the Bay Olympic score, hoping they hadn't won by 7. The good news came when Roger, parent of Mathew, using his extensive football network (his words) managed to call a parent from the 3 kings team. They had held bay Olympic to a 1-1 draw! Calls and texts zoomed around and soon all players, coaches and parents celebrated the good news. A bit of an anti-climax, but we'll take it! Bring on 15th grade Div 1 next year.