Water wings provided

Bay Olympic 1 Pukekohe 2 (HT 0-1) Scorers; Jamie Pegg, Nick Brunger

Pukekohe team: Colin Pegg, Martin Bennett, Matt Hull, Ari Kloeten, Andy Bell, Colin Case, Steve Fabrello, Jon Waller, Paul Coles, Jamie Pegg, Andy Evans, Nick Brunger, Dave Wadeley

Quite how it came to be that AFF Division 6B played this weekend whilst the rest of the league remained idle is a little beyond me, but it led to a rather surreal day with the 8 or so pitches at Eastdale Park being eerily silent apart from our game. The conditions were a little damp pre kick off but worsened significantly during the game, in which heavy rain, thunder, lightning and even hail saw the game being played on close to a paddy field by the end.

Bay played the whole game with 10 men and I have to say deserve huge credit for a really gutsy performance which was a credit to them and their club. The early play was all Puke with chances being created at will and on another day both Jamie and Andy may feel they could have had hat-tricks. Indeed Jamie opened the scoring with a good finish when put through 1 on 1 with their keeper. By half time we were at a bit of a loss what to say as it only seemed to be a matter of time before some of the numerous chances started to go in.

Football can all ways surprise though and the second half, accompanied by the rapidly deteriorating conditions started with it being all Bay. In fairness they probably adapted better as we tried to pass it through midfield which was no longer working and they tried to get the ball forward quickly. Suffice to say Bay equalised and even had a good chance to take the lead twice, one shot cannoning off of the post.

Puke continued to create numerous chances none of which were taken until with around 4 minutes to go, and things becoming increasingly desperate Nick Brunger picked up the ball 10 metres outside the Bay penalty area, took a couple of paces and hit a rasping shot which absolutely flew in.

This was definitely a get out of jail free card used, and hopefully the return next week of the 4 players missing yesterday will turn things around. Just a note of thanks to Steve Fabrello, Matt Hull and Dave Wadeley for stepping in, especially in the atrocious conditions. Well done to Colin for avoiding getting hypothermia and man of the match Nick Brunger for sparring our collective blushes with a moment of brilliance.

Scorers season to date: 9 Andy Evans, 6 Jamie Pegg, 4 Nick Rowe, , 3 Jon Waller, Colin Case, Liam MacDonald, George Miller, Neil Skerry, Ari Kloeten, Nick Brunger. 3 Goals awarded for default win.