Waiuku Fight Out Good Win

Waiuku AFC took their unbeaten tally to five games with a hard fought 3 2 win over second placed Fencibles United at Massey Park on Saturday.

Fencibles arrived needing the points to all but secure promotion to the first division but Waiuku were not prepared to capitulate. With only three minutes on the clock left midfielder Charlie Heather picked up the ball deep in his own half and played a long pass up the line to striker Derek Sinclair who held it up well before putting a great cross into the box. The man on the end of the cross was Heather who had started the move and sprinted the length of the pitch to head the home side into an early lead. Waiuku could’ve doubled the lead 15 minutes later when Grant Duncan headed home a Shane Godden cross only to be denied by a very dubious offside decision from the referee’s assistant – the third time this has happened to the striker in his short time at the club. Striker Sinclair made no mistake however after latching on to a long ball from defender Sam Van Pomeren and slotting it calmly past the diving keeper – a carbon copy of the Sinclair goal the previous week – sending Waiuku into the half time break with a comfortable 2 0 lead.

Fencibles came out for the second half with a vengeance; determined to get back into the game they heaped the pressure on the Waiuku defense and pulled an early goal back. Midfielder Stephen Lawry broke through the middle; caught keeper Stu Ruddell off his line and neatly lobbed the ball over to reduce the deficit to one. The game then became a real battle from then on with both teams calling on all of their skills and strength to keep the other out. Andy Millynn the replaced Shane Godden and made an immediate impact; running onto another Sinclair pass he was clumsily bundled over just inside the box and earning the penalty kick. Captain Jerry Hubbard took immediate charge of things and placed the ball on the spot. He made no mistake in restoring the two goal cushion. However this wasn’t to last long, just three minutes later a defensive error allowed Fencibles striker Jamie Higson to capitalize and pull things back again. The last 15 minutes was filled with chances for the visitors desperately trying to restore their promotion hopes but the Waiuku defensive unit held firm, including keeper Ruddell who pulled off an outstanding save with seconds to go from a Fencibles free kick. 3 2 the final score and Waiuku looking good going into their last two games.

After the game Waiuku coach Jim Evans said “we dominated the first half and were unlucky not to go in three nil but Fencibles certainly came back at us in the second. The back five were outstanding in the last 20 minutes and we hung on in the end. Great performances for Derek Sinclair and Robbie Leonard but Elliot Crean gets man of the match for his marking job out right.”

Waiuku travel away next week to try and continue their winning run at Hibiscus Coast FC. Kick off 2:45.

Team – Stu Ruddell, Jerry Hubbard, Sam Van Pomeren, Elliot Crean, Phil Donovan, Charlie Heather, Neil Holyoake, Robbie Leonard, Shane Godden (Andy Millynn 55), Derek Sinclair, Grant Duncan.

Subs Not Used – Phil Van Den Broek, Arthur Hislop, Scott Petersen and Dom Winter.