A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
THISTLE Massive won Eastern League football’s Division 1 showdown against Heavy Equipment United on Saturday.
But they still can’t call themselves league champions . . . United have a mathematical chance of overhauling them, although it would take a monumental effort.
Massive’s 2-0 win on Saturday meant they finished their league campaign with 45 points and a goal difference of 48 from 20 games.
United have 42 points and a goal difference of 33 from 19 games. They have yet to play bottom-placed Gisborne Glass Eastgate but they need to win by at least 15 goals to retain their league title.
A 15-goal margin would give United the same goal difference as Massive, but United would win the league by virtue of having scored more goals. At present, the goals-for tallies are 72 for Massive and 61 for United.
Carpet Court Thistle are also on 45 points but they have completed their league fixtures with a lower goal difference than their clubmates, and their most likely final placing is third.
Central Football eastern operations manager Phil Holt said yesterday the United-Eastgate match could be played as soon as both clubs were free of their commitments to the Bailey Cup knockout competition.
This weekend’s first round of the cup features a repeat of last weekend’s league fixtures. Thistle Massive play United on Childers Road Reserve No.1 and Carpet Court Thistle play West Inn Bohemians on the reserve’s No.2 pitch.
Gisborne Boys’ High School and Eastgate have byes into the semifinals.
In last Saturday’s crunch match, Thistle Massive hit the front after 15 minutes, when midfielder Kane Stirton threaded a through-ball into a gap for striker David Ure, who showed some fancy footwork to evade United’s defence before rounding the goalkeeper and finishing clinically.
The second goal, five minutes into the second half, also had a touch of class. Max Logan whipped in a cross from the right wing and, as it skipped up from the turf, Ure launched himself at the ball. His head met it at chest height 10 metres out and United goalkeeper Cody Keepa had no chance.
Thistle coach John Stirton was especially pleased with his defence — keeper Brad Reynolds, centrebacks Michael Rogers and David Raggett, and fullbacks Emerson Araya and Jody Ure.
With regular centreback Gareth Hopkins unavailable, Stirton called on Carpet Court Thistle’s Raggett to fill the gap at the back. Clubs with two teams in a division are allowed to have up to two players from one team play in the other.
Keeping tabs on CranswickRaggett fitted easily into the Massive defensive pattern and took on the daunting role of keeping tabs on United striker Stu Cranswick. As usual, Cranswick worked tirelessly, but this time he had little room to cause much damage.
Midfielders Kane Stirton and Matt Smith kept things ticking over for Thistle, while strikers David Ure and Nic Somerton were dangerous but closely watched.
United had an early setback — apart from Thistle’s first goal — when defender Jamie Simson dislocated a shoulder (the one he hadn’t already put out).
The rejigged United defence had regular left-winger Damon Husband at leftback, and he was a revelation there.
Others to shine for United were centreback Andy McIntosh, right-winger Charlie Priday and deep-lying striker Josh Adams.
United had their chances, the best of which came when player-coach Chris Adams hit the crossbar with a free-kick. The ball bounced down and over the heads of the onrushing attackers.
Carpet Court Thistle beat West Inn Bohemians 3-1 in a free-flowing game that had nothing riding on it.
Thistle led 2-0 at halftime through goals to right-winger Stefan Faber (an outstretched boot connecting with a Dave Watson cross) and Jason Scott (a deft right-foot clip into a top corner of the goal). Zane Destounis made it three 20 minutes into the second half, scoring from the left at an acute angle.
Bohemians leftback Jeremy Ion got a consolation goal 10 minutes from time, intercepting a pass in his own half and knocking it past man after man until he was one on one with the keeper. It was his first goal of the season.
Goalkeeper Raymond Rickard was Thistle’s man of the match, producing several goal-saving stops. Others to shine were defenders Leyton Peters and Andrew Black, midfielders Stefan Faber and Watson, and striker Garrett Blair.
Player-coach Roger Faber managed 90 minutes on the field for the first time this season.
Best for the Bohs were Ion, strikers Jay McCrae and Raph Heria, midfielders Max Garcia and Raimundo Prado, and defenders Warren Muir, Matt Barratt and Chris Cockburn.
They’ll do it all again on Saturday in the cup.