Waiuku take first win of the season in derby

Waiuku hosted derby rivals Pukekohe at Massey Park on Saturday in the Northern League Division one competition. The games between these two sides are always an intense competition with supporters from both clubs adding more spice to the game. Waiuku welcomed new additions to their squad this season and introduced them to the Fortress with Andrew Millynn, Robbie Leonard, Elliott Crean and Robert Hatton making home debuts. Waiuku also gave promising youngster Mitchell Thomasen his first appearance for the senior team from the bench.

The game was very scrappy in the first half with both teams enjoying good possession. Pukekohes youngsters put a lot of pressure on the Waiuku defensive unit forcing some errors and loss of possession. Waiuku did get a number of chances however. Danny Baldwin was sent clear by Derek Sinclair but goalkeeper Trent Hirst saved with his legs. Then captain Cody Ralph burst through but his lob shot was palmed away by Hirst. Waiuku took the lead when Ralph scored directly from the corner kick with some assistance from the wind. In an accidental challenge Sinclair and Hirst collided while going for the ball and Hirst was taken away by the ambulance.

Halftime came and went and Waiuku turned up the heat. After going close a number of times Sinclair and Ralph played a one two and Sinclair played a square pass across goal for Leonard to tap home. The speed up front was causing Pukekohes defense some problems and Ralph was knocked over a couple of times inside and around the penalty area. However when Wayne Trout ran through he was bundled over and the referee pointed to the spot.Ralph made no mistake sending the goalkeeper the wrong way. Again Waiuku were giving a freekick in a good area and when Sinclairs direct shot hit the wall, Trout followed up with a 25 yard shot which was deflected into the bottom left hand corner. Thomasen was introduced and straight away provided an assist. He turned his marker and sent a wonderful ball into the path of Jamie Pegg who made no mistake from the left. Crean came on for Ralph in the last few minutes but he was presented a chance from Sinclair and he made no mistake making the final score 6-0.

Waiuku coach Jim Evans was pleased with the result "The first half was very even and we got a couple of early breaks in the second half to put the game out of reach. We played some great football in the second half and with some time we will get better as the new combinations get used to playing with each other. Man of the match was Derek Sinclair for his playmaking and desire. On another note Waiuku would like to wish Trent in goal the best of luck and a speedy recovery with his broken leg"

 In the earlier game Waiuku reserves beat Pukekohe reserves 1-0 with a well taken goal from Elliott Crean. Andre van Lieshout in the Pukekohe goal made some fantastic saves to keep the score down and Charlie Heather was man of the match.

Team: J Baldwin, A Millynn, P Donovan, J Hubbard (vc), S van Pomeron, W Trout, D Baldwin (M Thomasen 70), J Pegg, R Leonard, D Sinclair, C Ralph (c) (E Crean 85)

Subs not used: P van Broek, R Hatton,