Petone Stewsmum v. WU Salmon -Match report

Petone Stewsmum 0- Wellington United Salmon 1
(HT- 0-1)

Petone Memorial Park
1/5/2010

Team:
............Kahu..........
Richard....Simon...Warrick....Dave
Adam....Danny...Lane...Ben...Nigel
..........Craig.....

Subs:
Enrico
Cameron
Daniel Mitchener

Scorers:
Craig

MOM points:
Adam-3
Craig- 2
Ben- 1

At long last WU Salmon managed to put together two consecutive halves of football to grind out a very well deserved 1 nil win over old rivals Petone Stewsmum.

After conceding 15 goals in the previous two weeks (12 of those in the second half) it was fantastic to get a clean sheet, and even better to pick up three points.

An amped up Wgtn Utd Salmon took to a pristine Petone Memorial #1 in beautifully still conditions. The game plan revolved around tight defence and patient counterattack, with a five man midfield given a defensive brief, allowing a lone striker to patrol the line.

The plan was enacted perfectly- Salmon started much the stronger, as we have in all our previous games. This time however we did not let this lull us into a false sense of entitlement to the points, if we went into the 80th minute at 0-0, well that would be fine.

However there was a sense that a Salmon goal would come, after Craig asked early questions of their keeper, driving low shots into the corners from distance. Danny also had a great early chance, deciding to try and round the keeper, but being snaffled by a two footed lunge from their quite agile custodian, and Lane was making good runs into the box from deep.

Craig won a free kick after being taken out with a shoulder barge while through on goal- 3 metres closer and it would have been a spot kick- the cynical foul riled up the skipper.

The break came after 30 minutes or so. Ben played Craig in on the edge of the box, and Craig skipped across the top of the box, took one look up and curled a shot around the defence and into the right hand corner- After testing the keeper at the near post, the knockout blow came at the far.

1-0 and Salmon had a deserved lead from all their pressing. In fact Kahu was underemployed in goal with the Petone long ball game plan failing to trouble Wazza and Simon, and the Stewsmum wingers haven’t difficulty getting past a double team of Adam/Richard and Nigel/Dave on the flanks.

At the half time break it was all about maintaining intensity and staying focused- one half does not make a game.

The second half was as expansive as the first, but this time Petone started to find some groove with their game plan. However Ben dropped deeper to sweep in front of the back four, and the use of our fresh legs, in particular Dan and Cam, meant that the quick counter attack was not catching us short. The best chance of the half began from deep as aforty yard through ball from Ben deep inside our half was met by Craig, steering it past the last man and bearing down on the keeper. The skipper chose the wrong option, shooting wide when Danny was free in the middle. Ben had the next best chance, popping a shot from the edge of the area which looked certain to go min, their keeper pulling off a fine save to claw it out for a corner.

As the clock ticked down it seemed as though the early misses might come back to haunt us, as Petone now started to throw more bodies, and longer balls, forward. Desperate defence from Adam, including a cynical shoulder on the touchline (still not as cynical as Petone denying a goal scoring chance in the first half) meant that it seemed likely that Salmon would finish with all three points. The few corners they got were ably defended, including a fine take from Kahu in the crowded box.

With three minutes to go Petone had one last chance, getting into the box, but Simon swept in to clear for a corner. Every Orange shirt crowded the box, and as the ball feel tantalizingly at the feet of the Petone forwards a rugby style ruck and maul ensued, Wazza managed to clear but only as far as the edge of the area – the resulting cross was met with a powerful diving header to safety by Danny- such commitment encapsulating the Samon’s determination.

The ball fell at last to Craig’s feet outside the box, and having watched one too many Inter Milan games he set off for the corner flag, despite the fact that Lane was calling for a simple pass in the centre circle. A throw in was won and Adam and Craig ran down the clock well away from the Salmon goal.

It wasn’t always pretty, and it could have been a bigger margin but a 1 nil win is a real football score, and it was great to be on the right side of it-Well done Salmon, everyone deserves to take heart from this- especially the defence who held firm- three points to Adam Holloway who had his best ever game in an unfamiliar position, providing great attacking ball and supporting Rich in defence. 2 points for Craig for tactical nous and a winning goal, and one point to Ben for directing traffic in the middle, and sweeping up the rubbish.

C’mon Salmon- the first battle has been won, but the war goes on!