Thistle Massive are fourth, also on six points, Thistle Reserves have three points and Lytton have none.
Wainui have overhauled their playing strength this year, introduced another team to develop younger players and recruited promising talent from near and far. It all seems to be paying dividends.
The previous weekend, they lost 5-3 to Boys’ High in a lively game where they never gave up.
In the first half against Massive on Saturday, it seemed as if they had ironed out all the creases in their game and at halftime they were in confident mood.
They had just dominated possession for the first 45 minutes. And midway through the half, they’d scored a goal at the end of a length-of-the-field passing movement in which half a dozen players relayed the ball to the back post, where left-wing striker Steffan John tapped the ball home.
They’d come close with a free-kick and a rebound had almost ended with a successful strike on goal . . . “more of the same in the second half” seemed a reasonable assumption.
Meanwhile, over in the Thistle halftime huddle, they were preparing to counter-attack.
When the second half opened, the Jags took on a new lease of life. Within the first 15 minutes they equalised and it looked as if the momentum had shifted their way.
But two quick goals to Wainui in the next 10 minutes stopped the resurgence in its tracks.
Five minutes after the Thistle goal, Wainui central midfielder Jimmy Walker took a left-wing inswinging corner. The ball came back out to him and he hit a right-footed shot that went in at the top far corner of the goal.
A few minutes later, holding midfielder Simon Blaker dinked a free-kick from 35 metres out in front of the Thistle goal, over the defensive line to striker Jake Theron, who tried to pass the ball into the far corner. The goalkeeper got a touch, but only enough to set it up for defensive midfielder Olly Tilley to follow up and score.
Wainui hadn’t finished. With 15 minutes to go, goalkeeper Paddy Pierard started a move that shifted through the defence, into midfield, back into defence and then forward again. It culminated in a pass from Tilley to Theron on the edge of the penalty area, and then a diagonal ball to midfielder Jaiden Ibbetson, who had run from his own half to meet the ball. He was rewarded with the tap-in that made it 4-1.
Ten minutes from time, Thistle reduced the leeway with a goal from the penalty spot.
Wainui named Ibbetson as their man of the match, for his work-rate and the openings it created for his teammates.
Tilley and Walker also stood out for Wainui on a day when a lot of their players had their best game of the season so far.
“We’ve been playing some good football,” striker Theron said.
“You’d struggle to get an assessment of eight out of 10 from me for any individual performance, but I would have given three or four of our players eight out of 10 on Saturday.”
That makes the Sharks’ game against United at Wainui at 12.30pm tomorrow all the more interesting. In the first game of the delayed season, United beat Wainui 4-2 at Harry Barker Reserve.
United coach Dean Wrigley knows teams can change a lot in five weeks, but his side hasn’t looked too shabby, either.
In other Eastern League 1 action, Lytton play Boys’ High at Lytton, and Thistle Reserves play Thistle Massive at Childers Road Reserve. Both games start at 2.30pm.
Other results from the weekend (“home” team named first) —
Eastern League 2: Smash Palace Shockers 5 Gisborne Pro Roofing Bohemians 7, Heavy Equipment Services United (3) 2 Tatapouri Bohemians 2, Coates Associates Wainui Demons 1 Wainui Sports Club 0, ITM Thistle 5 Campion College 2, Wairoa Athletic 2 Thistle Vintage 4.
Women’s Eastern League: Tatapouri Marist Thistle 0 Heavy Equipment Services United 9, Bohemians 0 Gisborne Laundry Services Riverina 1.
