Roger Goulstone posted on June 03, 2007 18:28

This always had the hallmarks of a difficult assignment for the 15th Blue team. An away match against Eastern Suburbs with regular mid fielder and captain Jamie Pegg ,striker Rilee Lesperance and coach Tony Wisnewski missing was a big ask. Add to the mix an accident strewn southern motorway and the stage was set for drama. Stand in manager Roger Goulstone suffered the nightmare of being 15 minutes from kickoff with 9 players at the Crossfields Reserve.Nevermind said the Suburbs coach, we'll wait until the last possible minute, besides, I've got 15 fit players raring to go. Hang on I replied isn't there a limit of 14 in a playing squad for each match? A shrug of the shoulders and a casual reply about Suburbs being relaxed about things didn't fill us with confidence!
5 minutes to kick off and 2 more Pukekohe players arrived - a starting line up was confirmed, the coaches subbing plan was consigned to the bin, and away we went. The match was a see-sawing affair but the extra weight on one end started to tell. The Pukekohe players were tiring and a steady stream of fresh legs from the Suburbs bench wasn't helping. Minutes before half time a 12th Pukekohe player arrived, timed almost exactly with a mixed upscramble in front of the Pukekohe goal resulting in the ball trickling into the back of the net.
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