Waiuku hosted Cambridge on Saturday and the two teams produced a very entertaining game of football with both sides having the opportunity to take the three points. Waiuku welcomed back Danny Baldwin and Grant Muckle while the third Baldwin brother arrived early on Saturday morning from Vancouver to start up front.
Cambridge had the first opportunity when a left hand cross found an attacker at the near post but Justin Baldwin was on hand to tip it around the corner. Waiuku took over from there and truly dominated till half time. Mark Baldwin up front was providing a solid platform to build from and when he chased down a ball, it popped up nicely for captain Cody Ralph who volleyed into the left top corner of the goal. Danny Baldwin got hold of the ball out left and his cross was perfect for Mark Baldwin who slammed the ball home to give Waiuku a 2-0 lead. Waiuku nearly went three up when a cross from Charlie Heather was met by Ralph in the penalty box but his effort sailed over the top of the goal. Danny Baldwin should of scored when Ralph drew out the Cambridge keeper and when the ball was cleared it was only as far as Derek Sinclair. Sinclair put the ball back into the area and Baldwin put his effort wide of the goal. Ralph got free of the defence but was put under enough pressure when racing down on the keeper and his effort went wide also.
Knowing they could be 5-0 down at halftime, Cambridge came out in the second half and upped the tempo. Jason Chewins grabbed a goal back when a defensive mix up gave him some space and he drove the ball from 25 yards into the top left corner. This got Cambrides tail up and they drew level minutes later when Mark Ryan received the ball in a similar space as Chewins and curled the ball into the top right hand corner with Justin Baldwin well beaten. Shellshocked Waiuku were struggling to hold on and Dima Slack put his team ahead with a fine run from the left. Slack's shot was parried into the path of Blair Ludlan who tapped it into the net amidst cries of offside from the Waiuku defence.
Waiuku could not put their foot on the ball but Sam van Pomeron changed that with the centre back driving forward. Jesse Smyth Kirk and Dale Oliver were now on the field in place of Mark Baldwin and Charlie Heather and Smyth Kirks pace got him a one on one with the keeper but his shot went narrowly wide. Then Sinclair got free of his marker but was taken down by the last man who was sent from the field with only a couple of minutes to go. Ralphs free kick was deflected wide but from the resulting corner Waiuku drew level. The corner was cleared as far as Jerry Hubbard who drove the ball back into the area. The keeper got down to his left but the ball bounced back to Smyth Kirk who drove it high into the roof of the net. Final score 3-3
Waiuku coach Jim Evans was happy and sad "We did enough in the first half to put the game way beyond Cambridge's reach but we missed our chances and paid the price. That gave Cambridge hope and they came back with a hiss and a roar and they are probably disappointed with the fact they got a draw. By the end of the game I was happy with the point. Van Pomeron had a blinder and I though Mark Baldwin who played his first game was magnificent. Man of the match goes to Brett Zinzan who is making the fullback spot his own"
Team: Justin Baldwin, Grant Muckle, Jerry Hubbard (vc), Sam van Pomeron, Brett Zinzan, Derek Sinclair, Wayne Trout, Charlie Heather (Jesse Smyth Kirk 55), Danny Baldwin, Cody Ralph (c), Mark Baldwin (Dale Oliver 70)
Subs not used: Stuart Ruddell, Kenny Nicoll