Waiuku Prems Advance in Cup

The Waiuku AFC Premiers progressed to the next round of the Chatham Cup on Saturday with a solid win over Keri Keri FC.

After beating Western Springs in the preliminary round of the competition, Keri Keri were confident going into this fixture and Waiuku knew that they couldn’t take the Northland team lightly.

With six first team players unavailable due to injury and suspension Waiuku coach Jason Heather was forced to call upon the reserve squad, including captain Evan Crean, to bolster his team.

Waiuku seemed to be still on the bus when after 10 minutes of sustained pressure they were caught napping at the back. A corner was defended well and the home team counter attacked at speed resulting in a well finished goal. Spurned into action and not long after this a Danny Baldwin shot was parried by the keeper only to find Derek Sinclair waiting at the far post to put the ball away for the equalizer. All square at half time.

As the second half kicked off Luke Sutton was replaced by Jesse Smyth-Kirk up front due to a back injury sustained in training. Smyth-Kirk took no time at all to make and impact on the game, almost immediately he latched onto a through ball from Sinclair finishing well to put the visitors in front. Still reeling from this set back Keri Keri was punished again. Reserve regular, Dave McCulloch, put a looping ball into the danger zone. Opting not to go for goal, Derek Sinclair instead headed the ball across the box to find Smyth-Kirk who easily netted his second of the game. Keri Keri fought hard to get back in the game with some very physical play causing the referee problems and who only just kept control of things. McCulloch was instrumental in Waiuku’s forth, delivering a ball deep into the home side’s penalty area, a defensive error let the ball fall to Derek Sinclair who neatly put the ball home. A consolation goal came for Keri Keri late in the game but wasn’t enough to change things. 

Coach Jason Heather said “I was happy with the way the lads stepped up to the challenge today. We weren’t at full strength but everyone did what was asked of them. I would like to thank new sponsors Johnston’s Coachlines who provided the team bus, the morale on board during the long trip went a long way to helping us get the result we wanted. We’re eager to see who we draw in the next round on Monday”.

Waiuku get back to league action on Saturday away to Mangere Utd.

Team – Phil Van Den Broek, Evan Crean, Jerry Hubbard, Elliot Crean, Dom Winter (Dave McCulloch 55), Mitch Thomasen, Darren Woolnough, Sam Van Pomeren, Danny Baldwin (Scott Petersen 75), Derek Sinclair, Luke Sutton (Jesse Smyth-Kirk 45).

Sub Not Used – Stu Ruddell