Waiuku finish season with convincing win

In the wet and windy conditions, North Shore got off to a flyer. A cross from the left found Jamie Shields on the right hand side and his first time volley sailed into Phil van den Broeks net from twenty five yards. However Waiuku didnt let them have the lead for long and when Cody Ralph was found on the left, his superb cross was met by Derek Sinclair who headed into the top corner of the net. Waiuku took control for the rest of the first half but couldn't find a goal. In total Waiuku had sixteen corners in the first half and North Shore can thank their keeper for holding Waiuku at bay. First he made a double save from Sinclair and Shane Godden and then kept a Ralph drive from finding the back of the net. Jerry Hubbard had a header cleared off the line and Wayne Trout couldn't turn the ball in after a goal mouth scramble.

Even stevens at half time but It didnt take Waiuku long to take the lead in the second half. Some good work from Jamie Pegg sent Darren Woolnough forward and his curling cross was met at the far post by Sinclair for his second of the game. North Shore started to have a bit more possession and came close a couple of times. First a direct free kick sailed narrowly wide after Simon Millynn was deemed to foul in front of the eighteen yard box. Then a thirty yard shot went over the top but van den Broek did have it covered. At the other end, Ralph ran into the box and set up Sam van Pomeren who shot wide from ten yards and a teasing cross from Danny Baldwin evaded the on rushing Ralph and Godden at the far post. A through ball from Baldwin sent Sinclair clear of the back four with minutes remaining and Sinclair was taken down just outside the area. However with the linesman flagging, the referee waved the game on much to the disgust of the Waiuku crowd. Waiuku did manage a third though when Ralph found space in the box from a Baldwin corner and he made no mistake from close range.

Coach Jim Evans was proud of his teams efforts this season "We gave it our all in the second round but we have just missed out to a good Mangere team. The players have shown great commitment to the club and each other and there is a great team spirit amongst the boys. With some highly promising youngsters coming through the reserves, next year looks exciting already and we will have another crack at promotion. Man of the match today was Simon Millynn but Wayne Trout and Derek Sinclair ran him close."