Waiuku improve on their away form

Waiuku started off with a hiss and a roar and went ahead within 2 minutes. Captain Cody Ralph got free on the left and when he squared his cross, Derek Sinclair swept it home with a left foot volley from nearly 15 yards out. Waiuku pressed forward as Mangere got off to a slow start and had a few good chances to extend their lead. Waiuku did that when Sinclair made space and crossed for Robbie Leonard to slam home to extend his good run of a goal a game. Mangere slowly got into the game and van den Broek had to be watchful with a couple of well directed shots on goal. A huge turning point in the game saw the Mangere goalkeeper given his marching orders when Ralph had got free and got round him only to be taken down outside the box. The keeper had no choice but make the tackle to ensure his team did not go down to 3-0. Wayne Trout nearly made it three but his glancing header went narrowly wide and Ralph beat the offside trap but chose to shoot rather than give to the unmarked Sinclair.

The second half started and Mangere threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Waiuku defence. Superbly marshalled by Jerry Hubbard and Sam van Pomeron the defense kept them at bay until a Mangere attacker beat a couple of despairing tackles around the box and the ball fell to Sumendra Singh who gave van den Broek no chance. Danny Baldwin came on for Simon Millynn and got Waiuku going forward again with some well timed runs and intercepts. Baldwin fed Ralph who took the ball into the box but was taken out before he could shoot. Ralph scored from the resulting penalty to ensure Waiuku took all three points.

Coach Jim Evans "It is great to show the rest of the league that we are competitive and can win away from home. This is a massive result for us and we deserved the three points today by being patient and finishing our chances. Player of the day is van Pomeron for his effective defensive display"