Compliance with both orders would save a lot of grief.
After an initial period of give-and-take, Whanganui went ahead in the 26th minute when a long clearance eluded the Thistle backline. Quinn Mailman got on the end of it and reached the left-flank byline before cutting the ball back to striker Josh Smith about eight metres out. He took a couple of steps to his right and hammered the ball low and hard into the net.
Thistle responded as best they could. Holding midfielders Kieran Venema and Ash McMillan had their hands full with Donaldson and Jordan Joblin-Hall – hard-working journeymen who hunted the ball and moved it on with the minimum of fuss.
On the Whanganui right flank, Mailman and Jonas prospered from the steady stream of ball coming their way, and Thistle leftback Daniel Venema and centreback Ander Batarrita often had to clear under pressure. Ben Huijs, patrolling the left wing, epitomised the spirit of the Whanganui side and was never less than workmanlike. He did not have the legs on Thistle rightback Andre Riley, but neither did he let Riley have untrammelled access to the Whanganui defensive third.
The threat of Josh Smith could never be ignored. His play up front for Whanganui was sharp and canny. Payne seemed to be always in support but also ranged farther afield in search of the ball. Together they were a handful for centrebacks Ryan Anderson and Batarrita.
Whanganui were particularly strong in defence. Their back three of James Satherley on the right, Shaan Stuart in the middle and Jake Simcox on the left gave the Thistle strikeforce of Oska Smith, Nick Land and Leo Maisey (and for the last 25 minutes Travis White) little room to move. Through a combination of anticipation and body positioning, Satherley and Simcox defused the speed bomb Thistle hoped to use on them, while Stuart and Land had a battle throughout.
The Jags' Cory Thomson had a tidy outing in an attacking midfield role, nicking the ball off opponents and spraying it around, but he lacked the opportunity to deliver the “killer ball” that would split the Whanganui defence.
Of the goalkeepers, Thistle's Mitchell Stewart-Hill was the busier, and nipped danger in the bud many times with timely interceptions outside the penalty area.
Whanganui player-coach and keeper Matthew Calvert delivered a constant stream of advice and encouragement and, when called on, intervened bravely to keep the slate clean.
Thistle's hopes of at least a share of the points took a huge blow in the 40th minute, when Jonas took the ball past Thistle defenders who had reacted to the raised flag of assistant referee Eru Rawiri. But while the flag indicates that the AR has judged someone to be in an offside position, a free-kick to the defending team does not always follow. When Jonas stroked the ball into the net, Hawke's Bay referee Russell Jones signalled a goal had been scored.
Matt McVey started the second half in the Jags' central midfield in place of McMillan, but the second goal had swung the game decisively in favour of Whanganui.
In the 55th minute, Oska Smith had a chance down the left when a misdirected pass out of the Whanganui defence found him in space. However, he was closed down quickly and forced wide, and nothing came of it.
Cullen Spawforth came on for Batarrita midway through the second half, but after several enthusiastic challenges he appeared to have aggravated an injury and was replaced by Max Kume, who played the last five minutes at leftback.
In the 60th minute, Kieran Venema was sin-binned for 10 minutes for dissent after the referee had penalised Thistle centreback Anderson for a foul tackle. By this time, a Whanganui win – while not guaranteed – had begun to look inevitable.
All doubt was removed when second-half substitute Ants Bell controlled a right-wing cross from Smith and from 10 metres out fired his shot low into the right-hand corner of the goal.
A yellow card for Oska Smith for a foul tackle on an advancing Whanganui player and the injury to Spawforth were the last two incidents of note for Thistle.
Whanganui player-coach Calvert said his team had done themselves proud.
“We are trying to build ourselves to the stage where we can have a few injuries and not be worried about who will come in as replacements,” he said.
“The three who came in today did really well.”
Thistle coach Garrett Blair said his team's lack of a proven goalscorer was becoming a theme of their season.
“Full credit to the boys; they put in a good shift,” he said.
“I saw a lot of positives. We are getting better, week in, week out.
“These games that are close, defensively we have to be prepared to prevent the ball going into the net. We can't afford to give teams like this too much time and space. It undoes all the good work we do.”
