Pukekohe 2 Fencibles 0 (HT 1-0) Scorers Andy Evans, Jamie Pegg

Pukekohe team: Colin Pegg, Martin Bennett, Neil Skerry, Ari Kloeten, Richie Sharples, Nick Rowe, Matt Nugent, Paul Coles, Jon Waller, Jamie Pegg, Andy Evans, Nick Brunger, Matt Hull, Colin Case.


Firstly I owe a big apology to Mike Botting, Jim Hey and Brian MacDonald for not thanking them in my post match speech for officiating at the game on Saturday, which was more a result of my ineptitude at public speaking than any lack of appreciation for the job you guys did. Quite the opposite in fact, all the boys would like to thank you for giving up your time and making the game so enjoyable.

On to the game itself and we knew that it was going to be a tough one, both teams arrived at the fixture with 100% records with Pukekohe sitting ahead of Fencibles by 3 points courtesy of not yet having had their bye. Fencibles would counter that their goal difference was 13 goals superior to ours. The scene was set for the big match up, Fencibles attack versus Pukekohe’s defence.

The first 10 minutes were very much like that with the Puke team struggling to get out of their own half, and Fencibles proving that they are a good footballing team. Slowly but surely Puke edged into the game by getting a foot in and some rigorous tackling. Both Nick Rowe and Jamie Pegg started to get a bit of room wide, and Andy Evans started to cause some problems to a team that were clearly more adept at going forward than defending.

Both teams started to fashion half chances but nothing clear cut and I must take a second to give a big pat on the back to Colin Pegg and the back four. To say they were immense is an understatement, Fencibles had scored 32 goals in their first 7 games and they were limited to long range shots from outside of the box. On the occasions where passes penetrated the defence the long legs of Ari or Neil seemed to stretch just a bit more or Colin mopped it up, brilliant game lads. That’s 3 conceded in 9 games now, impressive stats in anyone’s book.

Predictably Andy Evans opened the scoring, a good interchange with Nick saw Andy go through and finish superbly. That gave us a lift and put real doubt into their minds, apparently going behind is a new experience for them this season. Puke then started to really push forward with Jamie Pegg proving a real threat only to be nearly cut in half by a somewhat late challenge. The spirit of the Puke lads was best summed up when a ball was cleared long from the edge of the Fencibles box, in truth my intention was to put the thing straight back into the mixer but I over hit it and for all money it looked a routine collection for their keeper, Andy Evans never say die attitude somehow allowed him to not only get there at the same time as the keeper, but to be brave enough to put his head to a ball as it was being punched, only to see the ball rebound off of the post. A superb effort and the reason he scores so many important goals, we will now put him back in cotton wool for a couple of weeks.

We turned around at half time a goal to the good and knowing full well what needed to be done to see it out. In truth Fencibles pushed us further and further back with Matt Nugent and Jon Waller putting in a great shift, but for 20 minutes the ball seemed to rarely leave our half. The turning point came shortly after Colin Case was introduced, his extra pace saw him link well with Jamie who then finished superbly from the edge of the box. Having some young, fit guys in the squad definitely has its benefits!

They threw men forward and we hit them on the break with Nick Rowe, Jamie and Andy all going close but there was no further scoring and we wrapped up a very hard fought win. The boys dug really deep for that one and everyone looked like they had given 100% by the end.

Player of the day was Neil Skerry but in truth it was a massive team effort and all the more satisfying for it. Next week we have a bye to rest those tired bodies.

Scorers season to date: 8 Andy Evans, 3 Nick Rowe, Jamie Pegg, 2 Jon Waller, Colin Case, Liam MacDonald, George Miller. 3 Goals awarded for default win.