FOOTBALL
FOUR days after the event, Chris Adams was still baffled by his team’s loss to Thistle Massive.
Heavy Equipment Services Gisborne United led 3-1 at halftime against 11 men in football’s Eastern League Division 1 at Harry Barker Reserve on Saturday.
By fulltime they had lost 5-4 to nine men, and had conceded one of the goals when Carpet Court Thistle Massive were down to eight on the field.
The turning point in the match came 10 minutes into the second half in a series of hammer blows that, on the face of it, should have hurt the Jags.
First, Thistle central midfielder Nicolas Montenegro was shown the yellow card for a foul tackle. As he had already been yellow-carded in the first half, yellow became red and he was sent off.
Shortly afterwards, referee Chris Niven showed Thistle centre-forward Raul Medina the yellow card, for dissent, and sinbinned him for 10 minutes.
Feelings were still running high a few minutes later when Thistle right midfielder Ernesto Sanchez was judged to have kicked the ball away as United were retrieving it for a throw-in. As he had been yellow-carded in the first half, his second yellow also became red.
Thistle were down to eight men and then did the unthinkable: they scored.
Right-side defender Santiago Roanelli, from just inside the United half, clipped the ball into the penalty area. Nic Somerton made an angled run from the left and with a glancing header from the edge of the box cleared the keeper and made it 3-2.
United struck back within five minutes through central midfielder Aaron Graham to make it 4-2.
Thistle Massive player-coach Craig Stirton, who had taken himself off at halftime to put on Somerton, said last night that when his side went down to eight men, he thought, “Here we go,” expecting the worst.
He changed the back four to a back three, but otherwise it was up to those on the pitch.
Medina returned from his sinbinning with his side still only two goals behind and responded with a run down the left and a cool finish to make it 4-3.
Left midfielder Aaron Carpinetti followed suit, making a similar run, beating a player and slotting the ball past the keeper for the equaliser.
Ten minutes from time, Medina scored the winner. The ball travelled from leftback into midfield and then into a gap for Medina. He beat a player and slipped the ball into the left-hand corner for 5-4, and then they had to hold on.
“Everyone was behind the ball for the last 10 minutes,” Stirton said. “Nic Somerton was back in the rightback spot at one stage.
“Then, three minutes from the end, our goalkeeper Max Martin made a great save. They played in a through ball and he got down to the side and smothered everything. I made him man of the match for that and some other crucial saves he made.”
Others to shine were central defender Mike Rogers, leftback Daniel Contreras in his return from back trouble, central midfielder Kane Stirton, and Medina and Somerton up front.
“Everyone stepped up,” Craig Stirton said.
“The boys showed heaps of fight. It was a great game to watch, end to end, one of the best games I’ve seen in at least 10 years.”
United coach Chris Adams was less enthusiastic.
“I don’t know what to say . . . I have no answer. There wasn’t much said after the game.”
Everyone had played well in the first half, he said last night. Midfielders Damon Husband and Noy Paull had been particularly impressive.
“We were all over them and had lots of chances.”
Stu Cranswick had put United one up (and grazed the outside of the post with a penalty awarded for handball).
Husband added two goals for 3-0 before Sanchez pulled one back for Thistle just before the break, forcing the ball over from close range after a corner.
The game changed when the cards came out. Faced with fewer people to mark, players didn’t keep to their positions and concentration lapsed.
In the other Division 1 game, also at Harry Barker Reserve, Gisborne Vehicle Testing Thistle Reserves went 1-0 up against Sunshine Brewing Wainui Sharks after 15 minutes.
Wainui stormed back, dominating play and scoring in the 20th minute through central midfielder Max Logan, in the 30th through Thiago Carlos de Melo, and midway through the second half through Jake Theron for a 3-1 win.
Sharks manager Blake Mulrooney said some of the Wainui passing was a joy to watch. Logan was in exceptional form, and set the tempo for his team.
Player-coach Mike Smith did well in a deep-lying striker’s role, finding pockets of room in which to play.
Up front, De Melo displayed instant ball-control, was sharp over 10 metres, and was hard to contain.
Leftback Daniel Torrie, returning from injury, and rightback Caleb Baldacchino showed continued development, while centrebacks Dan Willock and Mal Furlan came on to strong games after tentative starts. Goalkeeper Patrick Pierard was safe at the back and impressed with his distribution.
Thistle Reserves scored when striker Travis White latched on to a Shannon Dowsing clearance over the top of the Sharks defence and, from 25 metres, lobbed the ball over the advancing keeper.
“It was quite a classy finish,” coach Davie Ure said.
“We played probably our best football of the season in the first 20 minutes, but we never really got back on top in the second half. Wainui have a good team and they played really well.”
Outstanding for Thistle Reserves were hard-running striker Leo Maisey, man of the match Andre Riley, who held his own against well-performed striker Theron, Cory Thomson on the right wing, and centreback Oli Gillies, who kept things simple and did his job with the minimum of fuss.
Other results —
Eastern League Division 2: Tatapouri Bohemians 0 Thistle Vintage 8, Thistle Development 0 Smash Palace Shockers 4, HES United Thirds 4 ITM Thistle 1, Gisborne Pro Roofing Bohemians 1 1st Class Decorators Wainui Salty Dogs 4, QRS Wairoa Athletic 1 Coates Associates Wainui Demons 3.
Women’s Eastern League: HES United 15 Gisborne Girls’ High School 0, Campion College 2 Neighborhood Pizzeria Wainui Wahine 2, Gisborne Laundry Services Wainui Riverina 5 Bohemians 3.