Reserves scrape together a team and one point

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

Craig Stirton was “about five minutes away from defaulting” on Friday when he completed the scramble for a team to travel to Napier on Saturday.

In the end, he had two subs — himself included — and ALH Gisborne Thistle Reserves earned their first away point of the season for a 1-1 draw with Napier Marist Premiers.

Both sides were reserve teams for clubs with a team in the Federation League, and the match at Park Island's Bond field produced end-to-end action.

Marist scored in the 43rd minute and were 1-0 up at halftime.

Shehab Altour replaced Lucas Ricard on the left side of midfield 10 minutes into the second half and, 15 minutes later, scored the equaliser.

The ball was played over the top to Altour, who laid it off to central midfielder Reece Brew. He gave the return pass that set up Altour for his shot . . . he sneaked it under the goalkeeper's dive.

Thistle Reserves coach Craig Stirton said the players stepped up.

“The whole team played well,” he said.

“At one stage I had eight players for the trip. I was about five minutes away from defaulting but we scraped up a few players just in time. It was a little after 12.30pm on Friday . . . we had to make a call on the minibus.”

The team he scraped together had Tom Talbot in goal, Shai Avni and Gee Gaurav as right and left fullbacks, Brad Hill and Tim Hofman as centrebacks, Raydon Semmens just in front of them, Davie Ure and Brew as central midfielders, Alex Shanks and Ricard/Altour on the flanks and Matt Adams up front.

Hofman was man of the match and Semmens did well in the holding role.

The Reserves' next game is against Napier City Rovers Prems, away.