Eastern Premiership football: Gisborne clubs fall to second and third

Gisborne United player-coach Josh Adams lets fly from the edge of the Port Hill penalty area as goalkeeper Zach Burns prepares to save. Napier side Port Hill won this Eastern Premiership football game 3-1. Photo / John Gillies

Gisborne clubs Thistle and United each dropped a place in football’s Eastern Premiership standings when they lost on Saturday.

Heavy Equipment Services Gisborne United lost 3-1 to Port Hill at Harry Barker Reserve, and Electrinet Thistle lost 2-1 to Maycenvale in Hastings.

Napier City Rovers Reserves moved to the top of the table, on 21 points, when they came from two goals down at halftime to beat Western Rangers 6-2 in Hastings.

Thistle and United have 19 points, though the Jags are ahead on goal difference. Havelock North Wanderers are one point back in fourth place. Next come Port Hill on 16 points and Maycenvale on 15.

Injuries and below-strength playing stocks affected both Gisborne sides, but neither coach was willing to blame that for the defeats.

“We didn’t show up,” United coach Josh Adams said.

“We played well for the first 20 minutes, and that was about it. We switched off and didn’t come back. We lost the ball and didn’t track.”

Left-winger Malcolm Marfell crosses the ball for Gisborne United forwards Josh Adams (left) and Stu Cranswick (not in picture) in the Eastern Premiership football game at Harry Barker Reserve on Saturday. Napier side Port Hill won 3-1. Photo / John Gillies

Mistakes had cost them two goals in the first half, he said. They hadn’t taken control the way they needed to if they wanted to win this league.

Port Hill coach Dan Johansen said he wanted his players to attack and put United under pressure for pace.

“I’m particularly pleased with winning the midfield battle,” he said.

“The midfield guys did their job. They stayed with the runners and made sure we shut down those options. The work those guys did earned us the points.”

Gisborne United started well. Two Port Hill defenders contested a high ball in the ninth minute, and neither got good contact. The ball fell to Adams, whose shot went into the far corner.

United goalkeeper Andy McIntosh made the first of several brave saves when he spread himself in front of Port Hill striker Luke Posthumus in the 23rd minute. Sixty seconds later, Thistle right midfielder Sam Royston got through and shot, only for Port Hill keeper Zach Burns to deflect the ball on to the far post.

Then, in the space of eight minutes, Port Hill equalised and took the lead. In the 30th, left midfielder Harley Simmons scored from close range and, in the 38th, skipper Matt Betesta found space on the right to square the ball to Posthumus, who finished from five metres.

United played with a back three of Jonathan Purcell, Ryan Anderson and Kieran Venema. Kieran Higham, out with injury for a month, maybe more, would normally tidy up a lot through anticipation and sheer pace. United will need to find a way to compensate for his absence.

Gisborne United striker Josh Adams shoots and Port Hill goalkeeper Zach Burns watches the ball head beyond the far post to safety. Napier side Port Hill won this Eastern Premiership football match 3-1 at Harry Barker Reserve on Saturday. Photo / John Gillies

Jake Robertson came on for Venema – subbed before a niggling injury became serious – 35 minutes from time. United made second-half forays that showed promise, but Port Hill were resolute across the park.

Posthumus made the left-wing run behind the decisive third goal, cutting the ball back to Jamie Provines to score in the 59th minute.

United had plenty of time to pull back the deficit, but Port Hill defended with conviction. Burns blocked an Adams scorcher from 18 metres. Another Adams effort just beat the far post. Malcolm Marfell looked dangerous on the left, but Port Hill swarmed to meet his crosses.

With Higham and strikers Campbell Hall and Corey Adams injured, Stu Cranswick returned to give a typically whole-hearted display. Neither he nor Josh Adams could get free for long, though.

Holding midfielder Aaron Graham was outstanding. In one two-minute spell that began with McIntosh pulling off a smart fingertip save up high, Graham blocked one shot from the corner, then got in the way of another.

Referee Chris Niven, with the benefit of two assistants, controlled play well and showed the yellow card to only one player, Port Hill’s Tom Neale, in the 48th minute.

The referee in Thistle’s game had no linesmen, and Jags coach Tam Cramer said it probably affected the result.

Maycenvale’s first goal, scored in the 14th minute by Risqi Triyanto, came after the ball appeared to have gone over the byline, but the referee had no assistant checking for offside or “outs”.

Thistle midfielder Travis White was shown the yellow card and given 10 minutes in the sin bin for dissent after he protested about the lead-up to the goal.

The Jags could do little about the second goal, a 20-metre free-kick by Liam Shackleton that kept low.

“In the second half, we played them off the park,” Cramer said.

“Cory Thomson scored with a header [in the 53rd minute], and from then on it was all us. Their keeper [Jono Marshall] pulled off six or seven good saves, and they cleared shots off the line.

“We just started playing football; we didn’t do that in the first half. I don’t think it has anything to do with the travel, because we’ve done it at home, too. It has to stop.”

Thistle striker Jimmy Somerton had “lots of bodies” around him but still managed to get shots on goal, Cramer said.

He had the ball in the net, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Cramer said it didn’t look offside from where he was standing, but the lack of a linesman made it difficult for the referee.

Thistle had big changes to their starting line-up, due to players being injured or unavailable.

Right back Charlie Harvey had his first-team starting debut, and midfielders David Salmon and Sam Patterson returned to first-team duty.

Patterson took a head knock in a challenge in the 32nd minute and was replaced by Teweia Butibara, and Jay Houthuijzen came on for the last 15 minutes.

Harvey settled after a nervous start, Cramer said. Daniel Venema and Martin Kees worked well together as centre backs, and Te Kani Wirepa-Hei played well.

“No one played particularly badly, but no one stood out,” Cramer said.

“What we had on the pitch was good enough to have won the game.”

High School Old Boys Gisborne Boys’ High School had no league game over the weekend.