ONE UP: Thistle striker Nicky Land (left) scores his side’s first goal in their 4-1 win against Palmerston North Marist Reserves in a Central Federation League football match at Childers Road Reserve on Saturday. Picture by Paul Rickard
THIS was anybody’s game until the last 10 minutes.
Gisborne Thistle beat Palmerston North Marist Reserves 4-1 in Central Federation League football at Childers Road Reserve on Saturday.
But until the 81st minute — when Thistle got their third goal to make it 3-1 — Marist were in with a chance.
It was a game of tactics and calculated risks as much as a contest of wills and skills.
Marist needed to win to get a place in the top-four playoffs. Thistle, in third place and already assured of the playoffs, are chasing second.
This fixture was set down for July 9 but wet weather forced a postponement.
Since then, Marist had won two tough games. First, they beat Gisborne’s Heavy Equipment Services United in a Federation Cup quarterfinal in Napier, and then they beat second-placed Havelock North Wanderers in a Federation League game in Palmerston North.
With Thistle not having played as a unit since July 2, when they beat Marist 2-1 in Palmerston, their coach Matt Hastings was concerned about match fitness.
Sure enough, some of them looked a bit ragged late in the game on Saturday. But Hastings had made allowances. He had his defenders lying deep, and his midfielders Jarom Brouwer, Cullen Spawforth and skipper Kieran Venema focused on stopping Marist from playing through the middle . . . that was where Hastings felt the main threat lay.
And part of the strategy was to keep the lungs of his players working efficiently as deep into the game as possible.
“I was extremely pleased with the performance,” Hastings said.
“Jarom, Cullen and Kieran were fantastic, as were the back four.”
Fullbacks Jake Robertson on the left and Liam Ryan on the right, and centrebacks Ander Batarrita and Mal Scammell gave a no-nonsense defensive display without abandoning the creative element.
Ryan and Batarrita were both cautioned by referee Mel Knight over tackles, but apart from that they went about their tasks with little fuss. Ryan was particularly impressive nodding away some dangerous crosses from the Marist right wing.
Polished performanceRyan Majstrovic gave a polished performance in goal.
He was beaten by a lovely strike by midfielder Carl Parkins-Payne, who clipped the ball first-time from 25 metres. It was perfectly weighted, clearing Majstrovic — who was perhaps a metre off the goal-line — and dipping just under the bar. Let’s say he meant it.
That goal in the 63rd minute made the score 1-1. Thistle had gone a goal up midway through the first half when Nicky Land put the finishing touch to some good work from Josh Harris.
Hastings had banked on counter-attack to prise open the Marist defence, and with Josh Adams, Land and Harris marauding, the chances were bound to come.
Thistle could have gone two up just before halftime. Harris latched on to an underhit backpass, Marist keeper David Luke narrowed the angle, Harris passed to a teammate on the edge of the penalty area, and the ball was scrambled clear.
Luke pulled off a string of outstanding saves in the second half. Many came after Thistle had breached the defensive line and the attacker was one on one with the keeper.
In the 50th minute, clever midfield play ended with Brouwer through on goal, but the danger was defused.
Luke saved three minutes later when Harris was through, and again in the 68th minute when Harris got clear on the right.
Fine saveIn the 74th, Corey Adams — who came on for Land in the 67th minute — brought a fine save from Luke.
In the 75th minute, a Thistle right-wing corner was contested in the goalbox and Luke lost the ball. Venema bundled it across the goal-line to make it 2-1, and Marist players claimed Luke had been fouled.
But Marist coach Donald Piper said he had no issues with the referee or assistants.
“It was great to have such a quality ref for what was an important game for both sides,” he said.
At halftime, Piper had put on Michael Webb for injured midfielder Ben Ravenwood. That was pretty much a straight swap, but a minute after Thistle’s second goal, Piper took a calculated risk.
He took off leftback Patrick Smither and put on 18-year-old Mitchell Dempster up front, leaving just three at the back.
Five minutes later, Thistle scored their third goal and the game was as good as over.
“It didn’t come off, but we were always going to go for the win,” Piper said.
“A draw would only have got us fifth place, and we wanted to make the top four.”
The third goalThat third goal came after Spawforth won possession in midfield. The ball moved to Harris, who took it down the right flank to the byline and crossed to Josh Adams to head home at the far post.
After two more close calls for the Marist defence, Corey Adams scored Thistle’s fourth goal. He collected the ball on the right and let fly from 15 metres, his shot hitting the inside of the far post on its way in.
Kieran Higham and David Salmon got a taste of the action late in the game, coming on for Josh Adams and Harris.
Marist coach Piper was rapt with the Thistle hospitality after the game, but also with his own side’s pluck during the match.
“I can’t fault my lads; they gave their all today,” he said.
Piper was especially pleased with keeper Luke, centreback Kevin Keegan, man of the match midfielder Parkins-Payne and skipper and striker David Morton.
Marist now build towards their Federation Cup semifinal against Napier City Rovers in Napier at the end of this month.
Piper said Thistle deserved to win on Saturday.
“In their first season back in the Federation League they are a solid third and a credit to what the club is doing,” he said.
Thistle now look ahead to away games against Havelock North and Team Taranaki before their last match of the season, against Port Hill United at Childers Road Reserve.