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FOOTBALL
TWO goals by Nic Somerton set up Thistle Massive’s 3-1 victory over Gisborne Boys’ High School in Eastern League Division 1 football at the Rectory field on Saturday.
In Wairoa, United beat Athletic 4-0 to edge closer to the league title.
Heavy Equipment Services United have 36 points from 14 games; Carpet Court Thistle Massive have 32 from 13.
Both teams have a goal difference of 32.
Massive’s last two games are against Sunshine Brewery Wainui Sharks, on Saturday, and Lytton High School, both at Childers Road Reserve.
If United beat Gisborne Boys’ High School at the Rectory field on Saturday in United’s last league game of the season, they will have retained the title they won last season for the first time since 2014.
A draw would leave the way open for Thistle to win the league by winning their last two games.
A United loss would mean Thistle could take the league with a win and a draw, on goal difference.
Thistle and United playing for top placeA Thistle loss in either of their last two games would hand United the league.
United could have their hands full with Boys’ High on Saturday.
Coach Richard Mulligan has started a series of weekday trial games to dig up fresh talent in the lead-up to the school tournament near the end of the season.
“Marty Ryan and Dave Watson have been developing some good players in the Boys’ High junior teams, and we’re seeing them come through,” he said.
Already Mulligan has found a nugget or two. If he tests these finds in Eastern League company, opponents could be in for a surprise.
Mulligan said the game between Thistle Massive and Boys’ High on Saturday produced some of the best football he had seen this season.
Massive’s Somerton opened the scoring with a clinical close-range finish to a right-wing cross midway through the first half.
Ten minutes later, he hit a screamer into the top right corner of the goal from 20 metres to make it 2-0.
Boys’ High closed the gap just before halftime. Striker Jirah Wanoa nipped on to a through-ball in the penalty area and finished from close in.
Halfway through the second half, Thistle central midfielder Dave Watson headed in a right-wing cross to ease the tension, but Boys’ High kept mounting attacks.
“We had four good chances in the last 15 minutes,” Mulligan said.
“We were opening them up with through balls. If we had taken our chances we could have got at least a point out of the game.”
Mulligan said his whole team performed well, but gave a special mention to both keepers — Regan Cameron for Boys’ High and Raymond Rickard for Thistle. Both made some outstanding saves.
Thistle coach John Stirton felt his side were in control most of the time, but said that when Boys’ High got the ball they knocked it around to good effect.
Outstanding for Massive were Shaun Leeper in a hard-working display up front, Somerton in a deeper-than-usual attacking role, Watson in free-ranging mode, and sweeper Michael Rogers.
Rogers man-of-the-matchStirton gave Rogers the man-of-the-match award.
“He plays well every week and never lets you down,” Stirton said.
United player-coach Stu Cranswick said his side were “terrible” against Wairoa Athletic.
“We couldn’t string passes together, couldn’t control the ball . . . everyone was the same,” he said.
“The ball was coming off our knees, legs, arms, bouncing away from us.
“People were getting annoyed with each other because they were frustrated. We’d do one, two, three things right, and the fourth would turn to custard.”
Cranswick said the ground was “a bit bobbly” in places but it had had a roll and he wouldn’t blame it for United’s performance.
Nevertheless, three points and four goals were added to United’s tallies.
Cranswick opened the scoring in the eighth minute, latching on to a through-ball and finishing efficiently.
Fellow striker Aubrey Yates made it 2-0 in the 30th minute, when he got on the end of a pass from the midfield and sidefooted home from six metres.
Wairoa stopped United from going further ahead until the 84th minute, when Cranswick ran on to a through ball and drove it low into the left corner of the goal from just inside the penalty area.
Cranswick turned provider in the 87th minute, when his left-wing corner was headed in by centreback Jonathan Purcell.