Thistle unbeaten at home

GROUNDED: Gisborne Thistle striker Sam Patterson tries to evade the challenge of Maycenvale centreback Matt Ebbett. The game ended 3-3. Picture by Paul Rickard

FOOTBALL

GISBORNE Thistle completed an unbeaten home season with a 3-3 draw against Maycenvale United on Saturday, but they did it the hard way.

Thistle were a man short for the last 37 minutes of this Pacific Premiership football game at Childers Road Reserve. And, five minutes from the end, they went a goal down.

With Maycenvale having gradually built a territorial dominance to go with their numerical advantage, it looked all over for the Jags.

But two minutes from time, midfielder Max Logan played the ball wide right to substitute defender Stefan Faber, who — from 15 metres inside the Maycenvale half — launched a diagonal ball into the heart of the visitors’ penalty area.

Thistle striker Davie Ure darted between defenders to place his header wide of Maycenvale coach Brad MacDonald, who had replaced his injured younger brother Lucain in goal.

It was Ure’s second goal of the game, and it gave a result that was about right.

Lucain MacDonald injured his right ankle in a collision with Thistle striker Jake Theron in the 53rd minute.

Referee Chris Niven showed Theron a yellow card — indicating a caution — for what he considered a reckless challenge. It was Theron’s second caution — he had been shown the yellow card six minutes earlier for a tackle from behind — so the red card followed the second yellow, and Theron was sent off.

After an injury break of about seven minutes, MacDonald carried on in the Maycenvale goal but his ankle was giving him trouble and his brother replaced him in the 60th minute of playing time.

Maycenvale had three sets of brothers in their squad. Apart from the MacDonalds, they had Liam and Luke Percy, and Matt and Sam Ebbett.

Striker Liam Percy opened the scoring in the ninth minuteStriker Liam Percy opened the scoring in the ninth minute, finding space in the Thistle penalty area and receiving a made-to-order pass from attacking midfielder Isaiah Carney. Percy gave Thistle keeper Mark Baple no chance.

Percy and Jacob Rosandich were a lively pairing up front for Maycenvale, always prepared to run at defenders and hassle them when the Jags tried to set up play from the back.

Midfielders Luke Percy and Carney were prominent in the build-up of Maycenvale attacks, while Sam Ebbett and Patrick Wall sat deeper to act as buffers in front of their defence.

At the back, Matt Ebbett was rock-solid and Zimbabwean import Delan Mahlagwai showed touches of class. Behind them, Lucain MacDonald dealt with the high ball confidently.

In the 21st minute, Niven awarded Thistle a penalty but, after consulting linesman Ryan Majstrovic, awarded Thistle a corner instead. The Jags almost scored from that, rightback Max Mika’s powerful header stopped by the body of a Maycenvale defender.

Six minutes later, Sam Ebbett flung himself in the way of Ure’s shot.

Theron equalised in the 35th minuteTheron equalised in the 35th minute when he ran on to fellow striker Sam Patterson’s ball down the right flank, advanced into the penalty area, made as if to cross, and squeezed a shot in off the inside of the near post.

In the 38th and 40th minutes, Theron had chances to score but his volleys off crosses from the left were high or wide.

The next three notable incidents were cautions. In the 42nd minute, Liam Percy was shown the yellow card for kicking the ball away after play was stopped. In the 47th, Theron received his first caution, and in the 53rd, his second, and he was then shown the resulting red card.

Thistle missed Theron’s bustle, and he had linked up well with Patterson, who was determined to make the most of his place in the starting line-up.

In the 63rd minute, Brad Reynolds came on for Patterson and briefly went to centreback, while Chris Spurr went up front with Ure.

Two minutes later, a move that started with Sam Hogan on the left flank deep in Thistle’s half went by way of Ure and Nicky Land across to the right and ended with a pass into the Maycenvale penalty area. Ure took the ball in his stride, rounded the keeper and slotted it in to put the Jags 2-1 up.

Spurr immediately came off, feeling the effects of a torrid 65 minutes in which he, fellow centreback Liam Ryan and fullbacks Daniel Venema, on the left, and Mika were often tested.

Maycenvale were unfazed by the 14-point gap between the sides. Thistle are fifth in the 10-team league, on 29 points, and Maycenvale are seventh, on 15.

Faber came on for Spurr, and went into defence, allowing Reynolds to go up front.

In the 68th minute, Maycenvale equalised. A left-flank move culminated in a cutback pass to Liam Percy, who finished well for his second goal.

Maycenvale reaping benefits of one-man advantageBy now Maycenvale were reaping the benefits of having a one-man advantage.

Baple, again in commanding form, raced out of his penalty area to defuse the danger by heading the ball away in the 70th minute.

Carney missed two good chances in the latter stages, but in the 85th minute he put Maycenvale ahead with a deftly struck 25-metre shot that skimmed the underside of the bar on its way in.

It looked all over for Thistle, until their 87th-minute equaliser from Ure.

Much of the credit for the way 10-man Thistle stayed in the game goes to the work put in by Logan, Land, Ure and Hogan in midfield.

Logan’s composure on the ball and sure distribution gave his team breathing space that was sorely needed.

Land ranged all over the middle third and beyond to create or destroy on his team’s behalf. And Hogan was not far behind in his endeavours.

Ure, like Spurr, is enjoying a late flowering back in first-team football after several years in Eastern League competition.

Thistle coach Garrett Blair was happy with a draw in the circumstances. He was proud of the way his team fought back after going a man down and then falling behind on the scoresheet.

“Max Logan had a fantastic game, and Davie Ure’s two goals were good finishes,” Blair said.

He was also pleased with the performances of Hogan and Patterson, who took advantage of their opportunities in the run-on team.

Maycenvale coach Brad MacDonald took on the job halfway through the season, after the previous coach stepped down.

“I was playing in goal for the reserves and tore my hamstring off the bone,” he said.

“I was unable to play, so when the first team needed a coach I put my hand up.”

In Gisborne on Saturday, he had Hawke’s Bay football stalwart Jeff Doolan on the bench beside him for advice.

The hamstring injury was not noticeable after Brad MacDonald put on the gloves, and he could do little about the two goals scored against him.

“We thought we had a pretty good chance, with the squad we had and the way we were playing,” MacDonald said.

'Thistle played really well and taken points off the big boys'“But Thistle have played really well at home and taken points off the big boys.

“We didn’t take our chances as well as we could have, and we let them back into the game.

“It was a bit of a lost opportunity for us, but we can walk away with a point, and other teams above us in the table haven’t done that here.

“I thought our young striker Liam Percy had his best game of the season.

“It’s our first year back in the premiership after three or four years. We’re going though a rebuilding phase, but we’ve got a good bunch of young lads.”

Referee Chris Niven kept good control of the game, particularly in view of the fact that he had only one assistant running a line.

Other Pacific Premiership results: Eskview United 2 Napier City Rovers Seconds 3, Havelock North Wanderers Seconds 8 Hastings Western Rangers 4, Port Hill United 0 Napier Marist 0. Played midweek: Western Rangers 5 Eskview 5.