Steve Upfold posted on April 29, 2007 22:24
The ladies' first team dug themselves an 0-2 halftime hole before a magnificent three-goal second half earned a 3-2 win over Papatoetoe at Bledisloe Park on Sunday.
Second period strikes to Rose Kraakman, Sarah Holmes and skipper Leanne Dodd hauled the ladies back into the lead after a lifeless opening 45 minutes produced two goals to the visitors from some ragged Pukekohe defending.
Once the home side hit the front, they had goalkeeper (and player-of-the-day) Sonja Abbott to thank for keeping them there after the stopper pulled off several point blank blocks in general play while also making an outstanding double-save from a Papatoetoe penalty after substitute Kirstin Davey was ruled to have handled in the area.
Sonja's heroics and the much-improved second half effort - boosted by an amazing display from substitute Lana Morris who had spent much of the previous week in hospital - ensured the ladies maintained their perfect start to the season in division two with their fourth straight win putting them top of the table after earning promotion from division three in 2006.
After re-jigging the formation at the break, the ladies got a foothold in the match when Kraakman scored her seventh goal of the season as she rounded the Papatoetoe 'keeper to tap home after being put clear.
That gave the home side some belief and 10 minutes later Holmes expertly held off a defender to slot past the advancing visitors' keeper to level the scores. For her trouble the Whippet took a blow to the head but gamely battled on after regaining her composure.
The Maroons' revival was complete 15 minutes from time when midfielder Alice Birch picked out Morris on the edge of the Papatoetoe area with a piece of quick thinking from a corner. As the Papatoetoe defense raced out to cover her, Morris sent the ball into the area where Dodd brought it down before thumping home to shrieks of delight from the skipper, her team mates, their coach and the large group of supporters.
In the final stanza, Abbott and the Pukekohe defense stood strong to hold out the visitors with Kelsey Macdonald, Karla Shearer, Davey and Morris all doing their bit to ensure big smiles at the final whistle.
Meanwhile on Saturday, the men's first team had their perfect start to the year ended by a 2-1 loss to Mt Albert-Ponsonby at Eastdale Park.
The Maroons took the lead with a well crafted goal to Brad Frost but conceded a sloppy equaliser two minutes later and the 1-1 scoreline remained at the break.
The visitors struggled to maintain possession in dangerous areas in the second spell and were made to pay for that when the home side tapped home a loose ball in the Pukekohe box on the hour mark.
The Maroons threw on an extra attacker in Andy Davey as they tried to get something from the game but a combination of wrong options and several outstanding saves from the Mt Albert 'keeper meant it was the home side that took top spot in the Super Division on Saturday night. Mt Albert are now the only team without a loss from four games.
Elsewhere, the men's reserves battled their way to a 0-0 draw at Western Springs on Saturday while the ladies' reserves were pipped 1-0 in Waiuku on Sunday.
The men's third team took a comfortable 5-2 win over Three Kings with Nick Rowe scoring his second hat-trick in three games this year while the Over 35s smashed Uni-Mt Wellington 8-0.
Steve Fabrello hit home three times for the 'senior seniors' while Dave Bernard added another two goals to his quickly growing tally.
Results:
Saturday:
Super Division: Pukekohe 1 (Brad Frost) Mt Albert-Ponsonby 2
Division three: Pukekohe 0 Western Springs 0
Open white: Pukekohe 5 (Nick Rowe 3, Neil Kraakman, Jamie Peg) Three Kings 2
Over 35s division four: Pukekohe 8 (Steve Fabrello 3, Dave Bernard 2, Roy Cooke, Tony Woulfe, Donald Grewar) Uni-Mt Wellington 0
Sunday:
Division two ladies: Pukekohe 3 (Rose Kraakman, Sarah Holmes, Leanne Dodd) Papatoetoe 2
Division four ladies: Pukekohe 0 Waiuku 1