Football: It comes down to angle of vision

Paul Ifill.

Was it a case of "Ifill the conqueror" or "Ifill the conman" as Hawke's Bay United snuck home 2-1 yesterday over Waitakere United in the Napier dead rubber?

The winning goal came in the last minute of added time when substitute player/assistant coach Paul Ifill sucked in defender Samuel O'Regan with his trademark pirouette in the 18m box to draw a penalty kick, which he duly converted as hobbling but brave Waitakere goalkeeper Alex Gibson picked the wrong side from the ensuing dive.

"When I got the cross he had a chance to make a decision - either he let's me take a touch or he fouls me and he chose to foul me and that was definitely a foul," Ifill said, revealing O'Reagan had come to him after the 94-minute affair to accept his guilt in the yellow-card offence.

Former O-League powerhouses Waitakere United, playing for pride after failing to make the ASB Premiership playoffs, had their own twist, as it were, on Ifill's swivel.

Coach Chris Milicich said: "Paul Ifill's gained a penalty when it wasn't - you know, he's conned them a little bit."

However, Milicich said his centreback's lack of experience also was exposed as they "lost on the very last kick of the game".

Ifill countered: "It depends on which side you're looking from. Chris might think I'm a con and I put it down to experience but he [O'Regan] didn't need to dive into that situation and that was that, really."

Milicich said their season wasn't what it should be after a slow start to the season, not to mention poor fitness that prompted them to play catch-up footy.

He thought it was a "50:50" game yesterday.