Gisborne Thistle's Samson Hota shoots to score his team's opening goal in their 5-1 Eastern Premiership win over Napier City Rovers Reserves at Childers Road Reserve on Saturday. Photo / Paul Rickard
Gisborne Thistle's Samson Hota shoots to score his team's opening goal in their 5-1 Eastern Premiership win over Napier City Rovers Reserves at Childers Road Reserve on Saturday. Photo / Paul Rickard
Gisborne teams Thistle and United lead the Eastern Premiership after key victories.
Thistle beat Napier City Rovers Reserves 5-1, with Jimmy Somerton scoring a hat-trick.
United defeated Havelock North Wanderers 5-3, with Campbell Hall scoring three goals.
Gisborne teams Thistle and United lead football’s Eastern Premiership after a top-four shootout ended in their favour.
Now they prepare for the derby – Electrinet Thistle’s home game against Heavy Equipment Services Gisborne United at Childers Road Reserve this weekend.
In Saturday’s games, Thistle beat Napier City Rovers Reserves 5-1at Childers Road Reserve – Jimmy Somerton scoring another hat-trick to take his tally to 24 goals.
United beat Havelock North Wanderers 5-3 at Harry Barker Reserve – Campbell Hall scoring three for United before going off injured.
In Hastings, HSOB Gisborne Boys’ High School put in a spirited performance in a 3-1 loss to a rugged Western Rangers.
Midfielder Euan Cramer was injured in the 14th minute and, after playing on for 10 minutes, had to go off. He suffered a broken toe and damage to the growth plate in his right foot.
Boys’ High coach Garrett Blair did not know how long Cramer would be out of action.
Thistle are top of the table. They and United have 18 points from six wins and one loss. Thistle’s goal difference is 23 (34 goals for, 11 against) and United’s is 11 (23 for, 12 against).
The Jags copped a halftime bollocking from coach Tam Cramer against City Rovers.
“We were giving the ball away too much and making bad decisions,” Cramer said. “The message at halftime was to tidy it up. I was really happy with the second-half performance. We stepped up all over the park.”
City Rovers Reserves coach Shane McKenzie said his side liked to control possession and build up play, but they knew that if the game became “transitional” – with possession changing constantly – it would suit Thistle.
He thought the Jags’ midfield did well getting past their Napier counterparts into positions where they could feed the frontrunners.
“These are the games we want, where we are tested against good teams, to give our young players the opportunity to develop.”
Thistle had more scoring chances than Napier in the first half, Somerton having one shot saved and two others going just wide, and setting up skipper Cory Thomson, whose shot also skidded past the post.
Napier came closest – midfielder Joshua Bowie’s 20m drive making the goalpost shake.
The Jags broke the deadlock in the 47th minute. Midfielders Travis White and Thomson combined to set up left midfielder Samson Hotas, who fired the ball into the far corner of the net.
In the 63rd, Napier drew level. Skipper and left back Nick Matheson scored from the penalty spot after Thomson tried to tackle an attacker from behind.
A minute later, Somerton had the Jags back in front. A clever turn from a right-wing throw-in put him in the penalty area free of his marker, and his finish was deadly.
Midfielder Carlos Guerra came on for central midfielder Davie Ure, and within three minutes, Guerra played the ball in to Thomson, who beat one man, advanced and slipped the ball past the keeper from seven metres.
Somerton grabbed his second when centre back Martin Kees hit a free kick from near halfway towards the far post, where Somerton rose to nod it in.
Gisborne Thistle right midfielder Te Kani Wirepa-Hei (left) is challenged by a Napier City Rovers Reserves player in an Eastern Premiership football game at Childers Road Reserve on Saturday. Thistle won 5-1. Photo / Paul Rickard
Twice in two minutes, Napier went close to reducing the leeway while Thomson put Somerton through in the 75th only for Napier keeper Liam Doran to save well.
Doran could do nothing, though, when Somerton came in at the far post to head home a first-time cross from right midfielder Te Kani Wirepa-Hei in the 77th.
Napier wouldn’t lie down. In the 85th, second-half substitute Finn Baragwanath hit the underside of the bar and Thistle keeper Mark Baple pawed the ball away, and in the 88th, Baple smothered the ball on the line in a melee.
Cramer was particularly happy with right midfielder Wirepa-Hei, Daniel Venema – who came on for injured centre back Junior Jimmy just before halftime – White, Thomson, and Ure, but gave everyone a pass mark for a much improved second half.
Tikokino referee Andy Parker showed the yellow card to Thistle’s Junior Jimmy, Kuba Jerabek, Oliver Aldridge and Guerra, and Napier’s Ben Harris and Mattis Weseloh.
Hall United’s hat-trick hero
United went ahead against Havelock North Wanderers after 10 minutes when Malcolm Marfell’s left-wing corner was headed back from beyond the far post by Dane Thompson for Corey Adams to force over the line.
Two minutes later, United player-coach Josh Adams – standing in for goalkeeper Andy McIntosh – played the ball wide of his intended target, straight to Wanderers skipper Tomas Suarez, who clipped the ball back over the head of Adams and in for 1-1.
Six minutes later, United striker Hall burst clear of the defence, held off a chasing defender and rifled the ball into the corner.
Seven minutes before the break, Hall struck again, latching on to a misdirected Wanderers pass and running away from the defence to make it 3-1.
Two minutes into the second half, Hall completed his hat-trick. Corey Adams put him in the clear, he shot, keeper Oscar Field saved well but the ball quickly returned to Hall, whose blistering 20m drive from wide on the right made it 4-1.
On 56 minutes, Corey Adams grabbed his second goal after his initial contact with Marfell’s left-wing cross was parried by the keeper. Adams pounced on the loose ball and scored from a wide angle.
Wanderers carried on as if the scores were level. They hit back in the 59th minute through Harry Bayliss in only his second minute on the field.
Fifteen minutes later, it was 5-3. Sebastian Wathey – brought on at the same time as Bayliss – forced the ball over the line after it was played in from the right.
Wanderers had other chances that came to nothing, but their resilience was impressive. Midfielders Suarez, Shane Medland and Kenny Willox stood out.
For United, Hall, Corey Adams, Thompson, Aaron Graham, Marfell, Ryan Anderson and Kieran Venema had good days in a solid team effort.
Two injuries within 10 minutes in the middle part of the second half will worry United supporters. In the 60th, Corey Adams looked likely to complete a hat-trick when he ran on to a through ball.
With no one nearby, he pulled up, hopping, and fell to the ground. He was helped off the field. Seven minutes later, Hall also left the field with an injury.
Corey Adams joined the subs on the sideline after he came off, and Hall was limping but able to walk after the match.
Referee Chris Niven controlled the game well, and showed the yellow card to United players Venema, Anderson and Thompson.
Josh Adams was happy with the first-half performance, and the goalscoring prowess of man-of-the-match Hall.
Wanderers coach Chase Arquette said his side struggled with United’s long balls with the wind in the first half, but had their chances and could have got back to 5-5.
Gisborne Boys’ High’s depth tested
HSOB Gisborne Boys’ High coach Garrett Blair said he had a squad of 14 for the match against Western Rangers at St Leonards Park in Hastings, but he was worried that would not be enough. He and assistant coach Sebastian Itman were on the team card, but were not needed.
Rylan Crosby-Wright, usually a centre back, had to go on in midfield for the injured Euan Cramer and made a good fist of it.
With the pitch not conducive to tight passing football, Boys’ High made use of the long ball. Anton Larkins, usually a right flank player in defence or midfield, was used up front for this.
Boys’ High trailed by a 43rd-minute goal at halftime but equalised in the 59th when Larkins ran on to a through ball from midfielder Matt Hills and slipped it past the keeper.
Two goals in four minutes – the first a disputed penalty and the second the product of an apparent hand-ball – ended the students’ hopes of a share of the points.
Blair said goalkeeper Aiden Armstrong had another outstanding game, Shai Avni was man of the match at centre back, Kaden Manderson and Gavin Derr worked well together on the left flank, and Hills and Jacob Adams impressed in central midfield.
He hoped the development shown in the past few weeks would yield points against Taradale Reserves at the Boys’ High ground this Saturday, and in their first secondary schools premier qualifying game against Hastings in Gisborne on Monday.
