Soccer: Dunedin teach City a lesson

By Terry Maddaford

The team were loaded with students, but teacher-coach Roger Brooks did the homework which masterminded Dunedin Tech-nical's stunning 4-0 Chatham Cup soccer final upset over Waitakere City on Saturday night.

For the southerners, the clever win at North Harbour Stadium was third time lucky after losses in the 1964 and 1998 finals.

They also lost the inter-island grand final against Central 10 days earlier, but showed they had learned their lessons well.

"I had them [Waitakere] watched in their last four games and all the information came to the same conclusion," said an elated Brooks as his charges collected their winner's medals.

"We knew they would try and intimidate us and we would have to overcome that."

They did, and a lot more. An attractive footballing side, Technical out-thought, outran and generally outplayed the local side.

City coach Steve Cain admitted Technical wanted to win more than his team.

"From pretty early on I sensed it [victory] just wasn't going to happen. To be honest, I feel we have probably over-achieved this season. In tonight's game I felt some of the less experienced players suffered from stage fright.

"They had obviously done their homework and knew how we would play. Good on them. They deserved to win."

But Cain felt his younger players had benefited from their season in the North Island League.

"Given that, and with one or two signings we expect to make in the next few weeks, we will be back as strong as ever in next year's national league."

Brooks can, with half of the triumphant squad at university, expect ongoing success with the team he will coach for a sixth season in 2000.

He has already taken the club to four Southern League titles, two Chatham Cup finals and two semifinals.

Technical's victory ended an 18-year Chatham Cup drought for Dunedin clubs. Dunedin City beat Mt Wellington in 1981 in the last deep south triumph.

But for all the youthful exuberance, it was Technical's veteran (and former All White) defender Graham Marshall who opened the scoring when he headed home, with the help of a slight deflection, the first of only three corners won by his side.

That 28th-minute opener was followed two minutes later when the impressive David Johnston rode two tackles before dragging the ball back to Jason Tee who was unchallenged in making it 2-0.

Eleven minutes into the second spell City were buried.

Goalkeeper Bruce Plunket failed to deal with an awkwardly-bouncing freekick - one of 53 dished out by rookie referee Ian Walker - and Justin Flaws swooped to push home.

Midway through the spell, and with three City players in the referee's black book, the ball landed kindly for man of the match Aaron Burgess who crashed a volley into the Waitakere goal.

Frustrated by the lack of enterprise from his team, a Wai-takere supporter in the disappointingly-small crowd yelled: "Play some football Waitakere - for God's sake."

They couldn't and he, like the rest, eventually trooped away shaking his head at an inept effort from a team who had enjoyed a season-saving unbeaten run not too many weeks earlier.