United stay on Massive’s heels

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

TWO goals by Stu Cranswick kept Heavy Equipment Services United hard on the heels of competition leaders Thistle Massive in Eastern League Division 1 football on Saturday.

Cranswick has scored 17 league goals so far this season and, as player-coach, he should give himself a pat on the back.

But he is more pleased with the progress his players are making.

“We carried on with the form we showed in the Federation Cup win,” he said.

United beat Massey Celtic 4-1 in Napier at Queen’s Birthday Weekend.

“It was good all over the park against Thistle,” Cranswick said.

“We’re starting to gel as a unit. The combinations are starting to click.”

United beat Carpet Court Thistle 3-2 at Childers Road Reserve to stay one point behind Massive, who beat Riverina by default. Massive have played nine games, United 10.

Cranswick opened the scoring after five minutes. Flank player Eli Batten gathered the ball at halfway and made his way up the left wing before sending in an early cross. Running towards the goal, Cranswick met the ball around the edge of the penalty area and helped it on its way.

Thistle goalkeeper Raymond Rickard had come off his line in anticipation of the danger but Cranswick’s header went over his head into the goal.

Thistle Massive coach John Stirton was standing in for regular Carpet Court Thistle coach Ron Young, who had a Barns-Graham Cup golf date to keep. (Reigning Barns-Graham champions Young and Peter Stewart were eliminated.)

Stirton had shared out the Massive players among the other Thistle teams.

Kieran Ryan and Chris SpurrCarpet Court had the services of Massive regulars Kieran Ryan and Chris Spurr . . . not a bad bonus, especially in view of the absence of the influential Dave Watson, who was unavailable.

Ten minutes after the first goal, Spurr replied for Thistle. Playing as an attacking midfielder, he gathered the ball around the middle of the United half, ran with it and let fly from 20 metres. It went into the keeper’s top-right corner of the goal.

Cranswick struck again for United in the 30th minute, cutting in from the right and shooting into the far corner through a tangle of legs.

Ten minutes after halftime Josh Baty gave United breathing space with a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area into the keeper’s top-left corner.

Ten minutes from time, Thistle player-of-the-day Kory Thomas pulled one back to make it 3-2. For the rest of the game, Thistle piled on the pressure, but United — well served by defenders Jonathan Purcell, Jack Notting and Andy McIntosh — held firm.

Batten and Baty also got through a power of work for United up and down the flanks, changing sides to keep the opposition guessing.

Cranswick said both were showing the benefits of improved fitness, and they gave a good supply of ball from the wings.

Stirton said Thomas played “out of his skin” in the second half. Early on he had not been getting much ball, so Stirton told him to go wide and look to receive.

“He did that and he was awesome,” Stirton said.

Riva Crosbie and Olly Tilley did well up front, while Ryan — in a holding midfield role — and Spurr added class to the Thistle effort.

Centrebacks Daniel Venema and Tim Hofman, and fullbacks Stefan Faber and Sam Hogan had solid games. Mark Langdon made an impact from the bench, and Lief Keown had another impressive outing on the flanks.

Ryan and Spurr will be back with Massive on Saturday, when they take on their Carpet Court clubmates on Childers Road Reserve No.1. On the other side of the ledger, coach Young should have Watson back.

United will play Bohemians at Anzac Park on Saturday. That could be tougher than the Bohs’ league position — seventh — might suggest.

Bohemians and Wainui DemonsBohemians and sixth-placed Wainui Demons fought out an entertaining 3-3 draw at Nelson Park on Saturday.

Some of the Wainui team had gone to Taradale on Friday for a memorial service for former teammate Ronnie Cornish, who had died the previous weekend.

The Dominion Post reported that Cornish, 41, had been named player of the day for Taradale Masters in their 4-2 loss to Havelock North on the Saturday. He had taken a knock to the head and after the game was vomiting and had a severe headache. In the morning, he was dead.

His family thought he must have had concussion and were surprised to be told on Tuesday that preliminary autopsy results indicated he died from an undiagnosed heart condition.

Ronnie Cornish played for Wainui for “four or five seasons” until three years ago, former teammate Mark Harris said.

“We wanted to honour him in the game, and we had a minute’s silence before kick-off.”

Bohemians had the better start, though. Demons rightback Tim Blackman, who had starred the previous week in their 3-2 victory over Carpet Court Thistle, earned the “play of the day” and strip-washing duties by scoring an own goal after 10 minutes.

The Bohs had most of the early possession, but Wainui came into it in the second half of the first spell.

Nevertheless, Bohemians went 2-0 up early in the second half when Matt Sowerby, having already played for the seconds, hit a screamer from just outside the penalty area into the keeper’s top-left corner.

Ben Inder — Wainui’s youngest and fastest — pulled a goal back 10 minutes into the second half. Harris said that in a goalmouth scramble the ball bounced off a couple of defenders and Inder performed a break-dancing move to get in his shot.

Harris provided the cross from the right for left-winger Ollie Suttor to score his first goal of the season and make it 2-2 in the 75th minute.

Five minutes later, Inder scored a pearler. Splitting the Bohs defence with a run from Wainui’s right flank, Inder took Harris’s chip into the penalty area on his chest and hammered the ball on the half-volley into the keeper’s bottom-left corner.

Bohs not doneThe Bohs weren’t done, though. Five minutes from time, central midfielder Caleb Jacobs burst into the Wainui penalty area and the referee ruled he was impeded. Striker Steve White scored with the penalty.

For Wainui, Inder, Suttor, centrebacks Steve Sutherland and Nathan Whitley, leftback Nathan Welch and elder brother Aaron in midfield, and Tim Power in central midfield were outstanding.

Bohemians’ best were rightback and player of the day Chris Cockburn, keeper Eru Rawiri, Jacobs, centreback Jeremy Ion (in his first game after two months out with a thumb injury that required surgery), right-flank player Caleb Craig and defensive midfielder Warren Muir (back after a month out injured). White, Jacobs and Craig worked particularly well together on attack.

In the other Division 1 game, United (2) and Wainui Sharks had a goalless draw at Anzac Park.

In Division 2, pride was at stake in the match between the Bohemians second and third teams at Nelson Park. The seconds won 2-0, but it wasn’t easy.

Sowerby, later to score for the first team, got his first goal of the day to put the seconds 1-0 up at halftime. Rangi Moore, playing alongside his father Matt, scored the second with 10 minutes to go.

Second-team senior pro Graham Maclean said the thirds were “up for it” and played good football. Seventh-placed Lytton High School caused a minor upset by drawing 2-2 with second-placed Ngatapa Silkies at Patutahi.

In other Division 2 matches, Gisborne Boys’ High School (2) beat United (3) 6-1 at Anzac Park, Campion beat Thistle Vintage 5-1 at Campion, Liquid Thistle Allsorts beat Boys’ High (3) 3-0 at Childers Road Reserve, and Wairoa Athletic beat Smash Palace Shockers by default.