United leave it late against Wainui

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UNITED are one win away from clinching the Eastern League Division 1 football championship, but they left their run late on Saturday.

Jack Feyen scored from a penalty eight minutes from time to give Heavy Equipment United a 1-0 win against Wainui Sharks at Wainui.

Centreback Tristan Bannink was judged to have brought down United player-coach and striker Stu Cranswick.

The pair had been locked in a game-long duel in which the absence of goals was the only measure that mattered.

“We were a bit flat,” Cranswick said.

“I think we took it lightly. It was end-to-end stuff but, the way we played, we were probably lucky to win.”

For Wainui, it was a performance to gladden the heart.

Andy Daubé in goal, the defence of fullbacks Diego Pedrioli and Jimmy Lawrence, and centrebacks Jeff Allen and Bannink, the “engine room” of flank players Greg Judd and Blaise Houston-Amor and central midfielders Matt Smith, Mike Vita and player-coach Michael Smith, and lone striker Zane Destounis did everything asked of them, and almost pulled off one of the upsets of the season.

Bannink made a good fist of one of the toughest jobs in local football: marking Cranswick.

In the first half, Michael Smith’s free kick and Judd’s volley brought the best out of United goalkeeper Timoti Weir.

In the second, rightback Pedrioli cleared one off the line to keep it scoreless a bit longer.

Also in the second half, Daubé and Cranswick came together outside the penalty area in a collision that had surfers wincing out the back at Pines.

Cranswick said the only good thing about it was that his fall was broken by Daubé, who landed first.

Both teams struggled for numbers. Wainui had the bare 11 but all stayed on the field throughout.

United started with 11 and the promise of reinforcements from the club’s lower-grade teams.

It was just as well. Centreback Andy McIntosh left the field after five minutes with a knee injury that was in plaster when he left hospital that evening.

Kim Perano had arrived at the ground minutes before McIntosh’s injury, having played a full game for the United third team. The seconds were playing at the same time as the firsts, so Perano dropped a grade to be available for the first-team bench. He was supposed to play only half the early game but the thirds were short, too.

Perano played the rest of the Division 1 game at centreback, alongside Jonathan Purcell, and they kept it solid at the heart of the defence.

Damon Husband, back from holiday, played well on the left flank, and Dave Glassford put in a good shift on the right until he had to go off with an ankle injury 10 minutes from the end and was replaced by United stalwart Grant Jones.

If United win their game against Gisborne Boys’ High School at the Rectory field on Saturday, they will be at least seven points clear with two games to play, and that will be the league decided.

Prolific scorer Josh Adams, who was away on Saturday, is expected to be in the United line-up this weekend.

Boys’ High lost 6-1 to Carpet Court Thistle Reserves, who were just too strong for them.

Even so, 10 minutes in, Boys’ High carved out a well-worked scoring chance that would have given them the lead through Rangi Moore. But PJ Goodlett pulled off a great save to keep Thistle on track.

By the time Boys’ High did score, through Moore with help from central midfielder Noy Paull, the result was beyond doubt.

Boosted by the inclusion of first-team squad members who did not make the trip to Palmerston North, Thistle led 4-0 at halftime.

Boys’ High had only 10 first-team regulars in their line-up but got 11 on the pitch with help from the lower grades.

Paull, Moore and centrebacks Lucian Nickerson and Drew Scott stood out for the school side.

Shipwreck Bohemians also had trouble with player availability and injuries.

They trailed Thistle Massive 1-0 at halftime and 2-0 after 20 minutes of the second half, but collapsed under the weight of sore and tired bodies in the final quarter and lost 7-1 at Childers Road Reserve.

Four of the Bohs — Jacob Larby, Bray Pewhairangi-Kutia, Dohyun Choi and 48-year-old Ma Mahuika — had already played at least 70 minutes for one of the Bohemians second-division teams.

Mahuika had played for the Bohemians Social team and was only expecting to play 10 minutes for the firsts. He came on 20 minutes in and played the last 70, moving progressively from the right wing to central midfield to centreback.

The other three came from the development team, and Choi and Larby will be in the first-team squad at the weekend for the game against Wainui.

Player-coach Matt Feisst said Choi, from Korea, was his player of the day for the impact he made on the left flank.

Feisst estimated he made 15 to 20 changes, juggling his formation to give hurt players a rest.

For 10 minutes in the second half, only 10 of the 13 in the squad were able to be on the field, so Chris Cockburn — off with a quadriceps injury — went back on and played the last 15 minutes injured.

The Bohs had lost Warren Muir with a “crook back” after 30 minutes. Others injured were strikers Liam Wire (calf and hamstring) and Feisst (cramp), midfielder Steve White (calf, hamstring) and defenders Jeremy Ion and Cockburn.

The Bohs scored through centreback Caleb Craig, who capped a good game by starting the move and finishing it with a strong 15-metre shot.

Regardless of injuries, Thistle Massive were favourites for this match, but they struggled to break down the Bohs.

After 30 minutes, Hector Araya made a run infield from the right, then backheeled the ball into the path of player-coach David Ure, who sidefooted the ball into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal.

Bohs keeper Eru Rawiri made several outstanding saves to keep Thistle to one goal until 20 minutes after the break. That was when Ure burst on to a Nic Somerton flick-on, beat a retreating defender and hammered the ball home from just outside the penalty area.

Five minutes later, Somerton sent a ball into Araya on the right-hand side of the goal 10 metres out. He nodded it across to Ure, who hit a first-time left-footer past the keeper into the far corner.

The other goals followed quickly. Left midfielder Daniel Contreras cut inside and scored with a low drive to the right corner; central midfielder Chris Spurr crossed from the right to Somerton, who looped a header from the edge of the penalty area over the advancing keeper; Ure laid off the ball to centreback Michael Rogers, whose right-footed grass-cutter from 25 metres went in at the bottom right corner; Craig got one back for the Bohs; and from the kick-off Somerton finished the scoring with an attempted cross that somehow acquired a swerve that took it beyond the keeper’s reach.

Division 2: Riverina 6 Wainui Demons 4, Three Rivers Medical Bohemians Development 1 Bohemians Social 3, GBHS (2) 4 Thistle Vintage 3, United (2) 0 QRS Wairoa Athletic 4.

Division 3: Liquid Thistle Allsorts 0 United (3) 5, Lytton High School 2 GBHS (3) 1, Smash Palace Shockers 2 Campion College 3.

Women: Campion College 1 Gisborne Girls’ High School 3, Gisborne Laundry Services Riverina 0 Tatapouri Marist Thistle 3, DJ Mac Panel & Paint Bohemians 4 Ritana Raiders 1.