4th Team v Waiuku

With the recent run of bad weather seemingly behind us, this week saw the Maroons at home against local derby rivals Waiuku ...

First off, apologies to Mike Botting and Glen Connolly.  Having turned up to provide support in the refereeing capacity, this week saw us with our first appointed referee of the season.  Sorry guys!

On to the match itself.  This week saw the return of a few regulars, including Blair Mason and Neil Kraakman, to take on a Waiuku side looking to do the double on us.  Sure enough the opposition came at us from the off, with the game being played at a fairly frantic pace.  Despite being guilty of often being second to the ball the Maroons weathered the early storm and were actually quite unfortunate to go 1-0 down as the result of what looked like a mis-hit cross which somehow dipped in at the far post.  Not what we wanted, but possibly what we deserved at that stage in the game.  Nevertheless we were soon back on level terms, courtesy of a goal from Shane Harneiss.  Unfortunately, we did concede a second goal as the result of a Waiuku set piece.  Half-time, 2-1 down and time to step up a gear ...

Cue the second half, which did indeed see us step up a gear.  Whereas the first half probably saw a fairly even game in terms of ball possession, the second half was predominantly Pukekohe with the Maroons bossing the game for long periods.  The leveller came as the result of a Blair Mason goal kick, which the Waiuku defence failed to deal with and was converted into a second goal in as many weeks for Graham Spinks.  Not pretty football, but no less than we deserved.  However, the Maroons were swiftly dealt a bitter pill to swallow after a penalty was awarded against us and duly converted by Waiuku.  Rather than deflate us, the penalty saw us step things up to another level and maintain pressure on the opposition defence.  A late Neil Kraakman header as the result of a well taken corner saw the score level once again and the final whistle came shortly after to end the match in a 3-3 draw.

Player of the day honours went to Neil Kraakman, who played with his usual commitment, harrassing the opposition into making mistakes and providing encouragement to his team mates.  Also a very well done to all members of the team again this week, outstanding performances from every player.  A special mention for Tom Shakeshaft, who put in a solid shift for the Reserves before playing the full 90 minutes for us.

While a win would have been nice, I think the team should take a lot of satisfaction from this week’s result.  Not only did each player work their socks off, but to come back from being a goal down three times during the match just goes to show the spirit and never-say-die attitude of the team.

Thanks to the official referee (Trevor Gill), to Tom Cramer for running the line and to the supporters for their invaluable encouragement from the sidelines.

Next week sees us away to Metro AFC and hopefully we can build on this week’s result and encouraging performance ...

Team: Blair Mason, Mike Thomas, Petru Musta, Tom Shakeshaft, Dave Wadeley, Jesse Bleeker, Mark Ellis, Neil Kraakman, Jason Harneiss, Shane Harneiss, Graham Spinks, Emil Bojam, Armi Sabetian, Anthony Kwan

Goalscorers: Shane Harneiss, Graham Spinks, Neil Kraakman

Final Score: Pukekohe 3 – Waiuku 3

Next Fixture: Away v Metro AFC, Saturday 6th September (2:45pm)