Adams scores hat-trick in win

GOAL TIME: Gisborne United’s Josh Adams scores again. He got a hat-trick on Saturday. File picture by Liam Clayton

A Josh Adams hat-trick helped Gisborne United to a 4-2 win against Eskview in Federation Cup football in Hawke’s Bay on Saturday.

Heavy Equipment Gisborne United will play a semifinal against yet-to-be-confirmed opponents on August 24.

Adams opened the scoring after five minutes, when he got one on one with the Eskview keeper and calmly tucked the ball into a corner of the goal.

Four minutes later, a free-kick by United midfielder and captain Kieran Venema found striker Stuart Cranswick, from the club’s Gisborne Championship team, and his header gave United a 2-0 halftime lead.

Coach Chris Adams’s halftime team talk stressed the need to keep possession and play one-touch football.

Ten minutes of possession-based football at the start of the second half culminated in right midfielder Jarom Brouwer cutting the ball back from the byline and for Adams to smash it through the keeper’s hands into the net.

Fifteen minutes later, Adams completed his hat-trick. He hit one from the edge of the penalty area, drilling it past the diving keeper to the bottom left corner.

In the 75th and 85th minutes, Eskview got themselves two consolation goals to make the score a little bit more respectable.

Coach Chris Adams was thrilled with the result: “Everyone put in a great shift and we produced a fabulous result for the club.”

He gave the man-of-the-match award to left-winger Malcolm Marfell, who had an outstanding match.