Wgtn Utd Salmon vs Seatoun-Match Report

Wgtn Utd Salmon 1- Seatoun Gulls 3
(HT- 1-1)

Happy Valley #2
22/5/2010

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

Subs:
Nathan
Cam
Chris
Enrico

MOM points:
Richard-3
Nigel- 2
Lane -1
Dave-1

Scorer: Craig

The season is ebbing away for the Salmon after points were dropped in a must win three pointer against our local rivals Seatoun. Like a script faithfully followed Salmon plied on the first half pressure and were far and away the better team in the first spell, but then right on cue a second half collapse let Seatoun back in the game, and although Salmon regrouped and clawed their way back in, it was far too little, far too late.

A transfer to Happy Valley was a blessing since the sun shone brightly on a flat grassy surface- perfect conditions for football. Salmon had a full complement of players, although Nathan was still recovering from injury and was asked to referee the first half to warm up into the game.

Salmon started strong with Ben and Danny controlling midfield and Nigel and Dan adding legs on the wings. A Simon long ball from centre back had Craig through on goal, but Nathan called him back for a marginal offside- the signs were good.
Lane, Dave and Nigel combined to set up the first goal from a throw in, the Seatoun defence were bamboozled by their aggression and the ball fell to Craig just outside the box on the left. A quick turn and a looping shot had the keeper backpedalling to no avail, the ball nestled in the net for 1 nil, another beautiful goal for the skipper, and surely the floodgates would open now!

Salmon continued to pile on the pressure; Craig played Lane in but the keeper came out smartly, Ben and Danny were rolling great balls into the box for the skipper but the final touch was lacking. The closest Salmon came to equalizing was when Lane outjumped the keeper to loop a header onto the bar, a magnificent effort that rebounded straight to Ben with the goal wide open-alas Ben’s jump was too early and his header flew harmlessly over the bar.

Seatoun meanwhile had meager possession at the other end, and when they did manage to break forward the defence managed to snuff out the threat- Richie Hallam was the pick of the defenders, consistently winning the ball and distributing to his wingman Dan, and later Danny.

However it was down the right where Seatoun’s breakthrough finally came- driving into the box the Gull’s winger pushed the ball past Simon who tangled with him in the challenge- Simon clamemd he got the ball but it looked awkward and Nathan had no choice but to point to the spot. The Gulls striker calmly placed it past Kahu for 1 all.

So 1-1 at the break and Salmon were unlucky not to be up by three.
The second half well and truly belonged to Seatoun- now running down hill with the gentle breeze at their backs. Their second was well taken, a quick passing move past a static defence and then a delicate chip past Kahu- 2-1.

Their third was lucky, but came on the back of yet more possession- in a carbon copy of last week a long cross from the right sailed over the keeper’s head.
Salmon were suddenly 2 goals down in game that they had been dominating- You could see the body language drop, and it seemed like a long way back. To our credit we did fight back, Chris had a shot from distance which fell short, but Dan steamed in, narrowly missing it with his head. Ben and Craig kept trying for miracle 30 yard screamers, and Lane ran like a man possessed trying to create a half chance or two. Late in the second half Craig was through one on one once again, this time he was on side- although he slipped as he shot it was still on target and the keeper pulled off a great save- the subsequent corner was squandered. It has been a strange season for the skipper, seemingly unable to score simple opportunities in the box but netting from distance with tricky lobs and chips!

So it ended 3-1. If Salmon had taken more of their chances in the first half and not fallen asleep for the first 20minutes of the second half it would have been a different game. Petone picked up a draw with Legends, meaning the bottom is even more congested, but it also shows that every team is vulnerable.
As I have said before, we have the quality to beat any team we just need to put a solid 90 minutes performance together.

Richard Hallam was man of the match- an easy choice since he added a rarely seen attacking element to a solid defensive game. Nigel gets two points on the back of his MOM performance last week, for a clever game, in particular combining well with Dave, who gets one point. A bonus point for Lane who typifies the fighting spirit we need to channel to get our season back on track starting next week boys!