Football: Lower Hutt City hit highway with three points after beating Havelock North Wanderers

Lower Hutt City captain James Marsh keeps Havelock North Wanderers Solomon Islands import striker Gagame Feni in check at Guthrie Park in Hastings today. Photo / Paul Taylor

They looked like claiming a point in the last 10 minutes of the game but both sides agreed that would have been cruel to the victors.

"I think football's a cruel game and, to be honest with you, when you're in this kind of game the stakes are on the game itself and things happen," said Lower Hutt City coach Steve Coleman after his team pipped last-placed Building King Havelock North Wanderers 2-1 in Hastings today.

The Wellingtonians struck in the 21st minute when striker Sam Johnson scored after Havelock North goalkeeper Nick Hayward, returning from a broken foot, had denied winger Jared Cunniff a shot earlier amid howls of hand ball in the Ultra Football Central league match at Guthrie Park.

However, the goal stemmed from a feeble attempt to hoof a clearing ball from 30m without any purpose as Lower Hutt latched on to it and returned like a tidal wave.

The visitors found the net in the 73rd minute from midfielder Sekou Diane after a couple of deft one-two passes with Cunniff, but referee's assistant Dave Mason had his flag up for offside.

Lower Hutt didn't drop their heads, going up 2-0 in the 79th minute when Samuel Johnson surged to the top of the box to execute a worm burner. Wanderers defender Campbell Whitworth turned his back in the face of the shot as Hayward again parried, only for Johnson to follow up with a finish.

Coleman was keen to revisit the rule book on what defined a back pass to goalkeeper Keegan Smith that resulted in the Wanderers pulling a goal back in the 84th minute to Kenny Willox from an indirect free kick.

Smith had picked up a back pass from defender Ryan Benson but the incensed glove man got into a scuffle with Jorge Akers trying to take the ball off him after referee Mark Ward awarded the indirect free kick not far from the left upright near the keeper's box.

Akers pushed the ball to Jackson Ralph who chipped the ball past the wall and traffic to find Willox on the far post for a point-blank finish.

"Obviously Keegan's played quite a bit of football so if he thinks it's not a back pass he's going to pick it up," Coleman said amid suggestions the ball had clipped a Havelock North player to the keeper.

"I don't know the rule but, not withstanding that, we should have dealt with the corresponding free kick," he said, lamenting Lower Hutt's inability to mop up in defence.

Coleman said it was never easy to come to Guthrie Park to hit the highway back with three points.

"We probably killed maybe three to four counterattacks in the first half that could have resulted in goals for us."

He felt it was Lower Hutt's defensive discipline that created those chances but his troops should have put the game to bed much earlier.

"I don't think we were hanging on with 10 minutes to go but we were under more pressure than we should have been at that point of the game."

Coleman said it was difficult to switch to cruise mode in such encounters so it was imperative his team played to the final whistle.

Lower Hutt had too much pace and options with Johnson, Cunniff and Manyumow Achol creating havoc while captain/centreback James Marsh marshalled his defenders with aplomb.

Whether it was the opposition's defence or a lack of impetus, the Ethan Dent-captained Havelock North were unable to string anything of substance in the final third. The hosts resorted to long balls in the hope striker Gagame Feni would have turned on some magic, especially in the first half.

In the rare occasion the villagers got on the front foot they squandered crucial passes through unforced errors.

The Wanderers could have done with a solid presence in the form of Ian Paia but the Solomon Islands player is on bereavement leave.

Wanderers coach Chris Greatholder agreed, revealing Lower Hutt dropped off well and were well organised off the ball.

"We weren't clever enough to break them down in the first half. We needed to get the ball between the lines and we needed the midfield to break the lines better than we did," he said.

The pep talk at the break centred around infiltrating Lower Hutt's defence and changes were made accordingly to create that space.

He felt his men had negated that in what was turning out to be a game of chess for a while.

"I think for the most [part] they were in control of the game so we never really got going today because the urgency wasn't there and that's disappointing."

Greatholder said there was a lot of huff and puff but the Wanderers were lacking quality.

"I thought we just looked like we were waiting for someone else to do something special."

He felt two rebounds had fallen Lower Hutt's way and the opposition put them in the net but didn't for the villagers.

"It's a little bit of a hard-luck story but, to be fair, they deserved to win."

The result means Lower Hutt have breathing space, leapfrogging Wairarapa United by a point to seventh place on 15 points and sitting a point below mid-table sides Miramar Rangers and Wellington United.

Ninth-placed newcomers Integration Works Waterside Karori beat Stop Out Sports Club 3-1 yesterday to open a three-point buffer on Havelock North in the race to avoid relegation.

Uruguayan import striker Martin Bueno scored from a penalty kick but he's out of the next round after accumulating another yellow card today. Photo / File

Thirsty Whale Napier City Rovers drew 1-1 with defending champions Advanced Electrical Western Suburbs in Wellington in atrocious conditions today to maintain a three-point buffer as league leaders in the top-of-the-table clash.

Uruguayan import striker Martin Bueno, the golden boot race leader, drew first blood from a penalty kick in the 39th minute before Elijah Just equalised in the 53rd minute for the hosts at a soggy Endeavour Park amid wind gusts that didn't reach the 100km/h winds forecast for the capital city today.

Vice-captain Joshua Stevenson made his 250th appearance for the Blues today.

In other games yesterday, Wairarapa pipped Wellington United 3-2 and Wellington Olympic beat Miramar Rangers 3-1.