Early goal banishes nerves

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Sam Royston found a way to banish big-match nerves when he made his first start for Gisborne United in football’s Pacific Premiership.

He opened the scoring 10 minutes into their 4-0 win against Napier Marist Seconds at Park Island, Napier, on Saturday, and that worked a treat.

Player-coach Kieran Venema said he hadn’t given a man-of-the-match award for Heavy Equipment Services United, as the whole team had played well.

“Thinking about it now, I could have given it to Sam,” Venema said yesterday.

“It was his first start for us. He began training with us almost two years ago and has come a long way since then to get his first goal . . . and an assist for the second goal of the game. I was rapt for him.”

Royston’s goal came after leftback Malcolm Marfell’s run down the flank and cross into the penalty area, Venema said.

“Sam was acting as a second striker and got himself into a really good position. The ball in beat two defenders. Sam took it down on his thigh and volleyed it in from the edge of the six-yard box.

“For the second goal, five minutes later, he beat a player down the right-hand side. He knocked it past him, because he has speed to burn, got to the byline and put in a delicate cross to striker Josh Harris at the far post, and he nodded it in.”

Harris added another goal in the 25th minute, getting on the end of a cross to the far post and tapping it in to make the score 3-0.

In the 30th minute, holding midfielder Dane Thompson burst into the Marist penalty area and was brought down.

Striker Josh Adams scored from the resulting penalty . . . 4-0.

Venema urged his players not to drop the intensity, and they kept up the pressure for the rest of the first half.

“In the second half, I felt we had fewer options off the ball,” he said.

“I thought we took the foot off the pedal a bit. In saying that, I’d add that we kept the ball . . . we just didn’t have the real drive to push forward and score more goals.

“I was rapt with 4-0. I’d take 4-0 over 6-1 because we’re trying to build our ability to have clean sheets (no goals conceded).”

Venema said the back four were outstanding. Fullbacks Adam Simpson, on the right, and Malcolm Marfell, on the left, and centrebacks Kieran Higham and Mal Scammell didn’t have a lot to do but didn’t put a foot wrong.

Corey Adams and Thompson dominated the midfield and took control of the game, driving the tempo, slowing it down when necessary, then going again.

“Josh Harris beat a lot of players and got himself in the box,” Venema said.

“He and Josh Adams could have scored another couple of goals each.”

Venema said United were trying a new formation. They’d had a tendency to concede too many goals, so had adopted a system that allowed an extra defender. If it didn’t work in particular games, they could revert to their old system.

Venema, himself, had 15 minutes on the field, and a recently healed foot injury caused no trouble.

United next play Havelock North Wanderers Seconds at Harry Barker Reserve on Saturday.