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Jason Heather posted on September 06, 2010 17:28
The Waiuku Wolf and Beaver Premiers bid to become NRFL Division 2 champions ended on Saturday with a 0-0 draw at home to Fencibles United. Only a win wouldve done for the home side if they were to catch league leaders Mangere United, but despite a strong effort this wasnt to be. The leagues leading scorer, Cody Ralph, returned to the Waiuku starting line up after suspension and with a defensive line which havent conceded a goal in the last 180 minutes of play, things looked promising.
The first half belonged to Waiuku and the efforts of the Fencibles goalkeeper was the only thing keeping the scores level. First a sharp save down to his left denied Ralph and then getting up well to stop a strong headed effort from defender Jerry Hubbard. Fencibles played some good football in the middle of the pitch but had no luck once they came up against the stalwart Waiuku defense. Danny Baldwin and Simon Millynn created some good attacking play out wide and got numerous crosses into the goal area but the final finish just wasnt there. Going into the break goalless, the next 45 minutes would be crucial for both sides.
Fencibles rallied in the second half and came out strong but were still unable to threaten Phil Van Den Broek in the Waiuku goal. Some good chances were created by Waiuku with Derek Sinclair, Danny Baldwin and Cody Ralph all coming close but the final spark just wasnt thereto put them ahead. Frustrations were running high with both sides needing the win, some hard tackles were going in and string of dubious yellow cards from the referee did nothing to calm things down. Then with 5 minutes remaining Fencibles got the chance they were looking for. After pushing high, Waiuku were caught on the break and the visiting striker was clean through on goal. Substitute Charlie Heather made up the ground well and attempting to make a challenge brought the Fencibles player down just outside the box. The referee consulted his assistant then turned and showed Heather a straight red card for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity. Fencibles were unable to capitalize on their one man advantage and the game ended soon after.
Coach Jim Evans said "The draw today has knocked both teams chances of top spot and we threw everything at them today without reward. Their goalkeeper had a great game especially making that save from Cody in the first half. Im very proud of the effort and commitment from our players this year when you look at the size of some of the clubs we have come up against. We will look to end our season on a high next week at North Shore and go into next year on the back of an 8 game unbeaten run. Man of the match was Sam van Pomeren"
Waiuku cant catch Mangere now after they thrashed Franklin neighbors 8-1 at Centre Park on Saturday. The best they can hope for is a respectable second spot if they beat North Shore United next week.