Salmon hold second place JJs

Wgtn Utd Salmon 3- Island Bay JJs 3

(Half time 3-1)

MacAllister

MOM Pts

Tom Haig 3

Matt Fulton 2

Steve Westcott 1

This was a very credible result, and although many of the Salmon felt disheartened at giving away a two goal lead the reality is that Island Bay, sitting in second spot, were always going to be a tough opponent, and to grind out a draw where in recent times we would have capitulated is heartening.

Salmon had the bare 11 at kick off, and JJ’s had ten. So a quick call to James Stewart had him arrive within ten minutes to take the whistle, by which time JJs’ 11^th player arrived.

Salmon started like a force of nature, in fact the first fifteen minutes was probably our best start to a game yet and it set the scene for the entire match.

Within the first minute Sam Mills fed a long ball past their flat back four for Craig to run onto. The keeper was drawn out to cover but Craig won the foot race, lunging to toe poke it past the keeper into the empty net for 1-0.

Island Bay were quite clearly stunned as Salmon came again, this time Craig set up Sam who ran into the box, stopped and fed the ball back to the Skipper. Poor Ashby, unmarked at the far post, had to watch the skipper waste another chance with a miscued shot. It was a let off for Island Bay. A let off that lasted about ten seconds. The keeper took the goal kick and generously passed it to Craig at the top of the box who trapped and returned it forthwith into the net. 2-0.

Any momentum JJ’s did manage to generate towards our goal was ably deflected by our back four of Tom H, Adam, Tom M and Dave, and when this was breached Rich Martin saved smartly.

Salmon now drove on to finish the job, with Steve, Ashby, Callum and Sam all looking lively. Sam was certainly worrying their defence, that was until he was on the wrong end of a chop which sent him off the field for 5 minutes, and did enough to stall our momentum. Island Bay now rallied and soon after won a string of corners which were all well dealt with bar one. A clearance fell to their right wing who lined up a 20 yard drive which managed to find its way through the wall of Salmon for a 2-1 scoreline.

Salmon were not finished however as just before the break Steve broke down the right and crossed an inch perfect ball to the 6 yard box where Fulton had found himself unmarked for a nod in. 3-1 at the break.

Salmon were bolstered at half time by the arrival of Nic and Lane. The tactics were to sit nice and deep and let JJ’s come at us, absorb it and then break away. These tactics almost worked to perfection as Sam Mills broke down the left to cue up Lane who almost bet the keeper with a low shot. The first ten minutes of the half were in fact a continuation of the first, and if Salmon had taken one of the chances presented the game could have been won then and there.

As it was Salmon tired as the pressure was put on by JJ’s. Their tall timber centre forward claimed a loose ball and poked in their second. A rare Salmon corner was well taken by Sam and saw Tom head over the bar from close range. With 20 to go it seemed as though all 11 players were defending, in fact at one point all eleven were in the box.

With ten to go JJ’s equalised, when their bespectacled striker turned in a shot despite the close attention of Nic and Craig. JJ’s finished strong, looking to pick up the winner but to no avail, Salmon held on to claim a valuable point.

A season is made up of gritty results which includes wins and draws- I firmly believe that this was a point earned rather than two points dropped and sets us up nicely for this Thursday evenings gamer against table topping Varsity.

Petone For Sure 3- Wellington United Salmon 4

Petone For Sure 3- Wellington United Salmon 4

(Halftime 2-2)

Te Whiti Park

Scorers:
Craig Ireson (3)
Jonathon Hudson

MOM Points:

Jonathon Hudson -3pts

Michael Ashby – 2pts

Craig Ireson-1pt

Salmon were looking very short on Friday with only 9 players available- a call to the club was met with some reinforcements from the Elite and former Salmon Jonathon Hudson, who now plays for the Third team.

To add to the sense of disorganisation Capital Football had double booked us on Petone #2 so moved us to 12.30, then decided to move us again to the lush League pastures of Te Whiti Park.

So it was almost a result in itself that at 12.00 we had a full squad of 14 turn up, with Wazza making his 2012 debut.

Within 2 minutes Salmon had opened the scoring, something we were not used to doing so soon. Jessup sent a carefully weighted through ball over the defence for Jonathon to run onto, and run he did. He drove towards the near post, drawing out the keeper before rolling it across the box to Craig who slotted a simple left footed tap in.

Salmon then took the ascendancy, winning plenty of ball in the middle and releasing the wings for romps. Despite the organised manner it was a disorganised Petone defence which contributed to the second. Steve Westcott put a ball through for Craig, which was intercepted by the Centre Back on half way. Confused and under pressure he turned and played it into the path of Craig who took it in his stride and pushed past the cover defence to score a 1v1 against a now very irate Petone keeper. Craig was played in for a third after Jonathon picked him out with a pin point chip into the box, but the keeper smothered the rushed shot.

To their credit Petone scrambled, and with the strong wind at their backs picked up a first against the run of play with a long, looping cross –shot from the left.

With ten to go until the break Petone got a comic equaliser, as Richard M. and the defence got the wires cross and their head-banded striker, a ring in from Miramar no less, got between them to head into the goal. The comedy came from Tom H. and Adam H. falling over themselves to usher the ball into the goal, fighting a losing battle as the wind pushed the ball onward.

Petone pushed for a third but Salmon held out; it was probably a fair reflection of the half that it was a deadlock but the wind was worth at least one goal in the second half.

And so it transpired. The next 35 minutes were all Orange- The Elite lads really played their part, as did Ashby, running hard and pressuring the middle of the park. The third came from a wind assisted long ball which Craig took around the keeper for another tap in.

The goals could have kept coming but for a few smart saves from the agile For Sure keeper. Matt Fulton could have had his seconds for the season when he narrowly missed from a corner. The fourth goal came from Wazza marauding down the left wing; a cross was pushed onto the post by Fulton and the rebound fell kindly to Jonathon at the far post for a tap in. 4-2 with 15 to go and the salmon were in cruise control.

But it wasn’t to be a cruisy end after another mix up at the back allowed their bandanna’d predator a second goal with 9 to play. Salmon now went backs to the wall as Petone pushed for the equaliser. It would have been a travesty had they found it as Salmon were the better team throughout the day save for a few key moments. Just like against the Meke Salmon managed to hold out and took all three points, climbing back up the table to fourth.

Well done lads, the challenge is now to back it up with an even better performance this coming Saturday at Melrose against the youthful North Wellington.

Game time changed tomorrow

Kick off is now at 12:30pm instead of 2:30pm for KO tomorrow against Petone ( Saturday 12 May)

Location is now Te Whiti:
https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=te+whiti+park&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a

Salmon lose to Naenae

Wellington United Salmon 0- Naenae Unify 5
(Halftime 0-4) Wakefield Park

MOM pts 
James Stewart-3 Tim Murphy 2 Nic Preddle-1

Not much to say lads except we paid the price for a fairly gutless first 45 minutes, allowing Naenae to outmuscle us and score four relatively soft goals. We had our chances early, and towards the end of the first half we rallied to get some shots away, but we never really threatened.

To our credit we manned up in the second half and showed a bit more grit, James and Tom M in particular began to stamp their authority on the defence, but Naenae scored a fifth and we failed to score at all, and even if we had four early, unanswered goals killed off any hopes of a famous Salmon come back.

The league is still incredibly tight and despite this set back we are still in the running- all we can do is learn from the experience and turn up this Saturday  against Petone and give them a run for their money.

WU Salmon 6- Waterside Karori Meke 5- Match Report

Wellington United Salmon 6- Karori Waterside Meke 5 (Halftime 2-4) Wgtn College Turf Scorers: Sam Mills (2) Craig Ireson (2) Steve Westcott Matthew Fulton MOM Sam Mills (3pts) Adam Ray (2pts) James Stewart (1pt) If any ‘football tragics’ out there cared to bother, they would do worse than follow the fortunes of the Salmon; with a combined total of 29 goals in the last three games they would certainly get bang for their buck. The Meke turned up on Saturday sitting on 7 points, while we were midtable with 4. They also turned up with a young, fit looking squad of 16- and despite our youthful recruits (Sam and Callum) we certainly were a shade greyer than them. We had also lost the services of Richard Martin in goal, but hirsute defender Mataio from our friends the Sunday Blazers FC bravely donned the gloves. As soon as the whistle blew it was clear this was going to be tight, as both teams seemed closely matched in midfield, although the Salmon slightly edged the first 15 minutes in regards to possessions and chances. Despite this Meke made the break through, and once again Salmon were reeling from conceding a soft goal. But the response from the salmon was immediate-from the kick off Craig released Callum down the right, who abetted by a kind deflection, gained possession on the right hand edge of the box and crossed to his wing partner sam, who coolly slotted home. It was a defining moment of the match because it sent a message that the salmon would not lie down without a fight today. A settled back four, once again ably led by Adam Holloway, was disrupted after Richie Hallam tore his calf muscle. He has subsequently learnt that he will need to sit out for 6 weeks, effectively ending his season as he is off overseas soon. Adam Ray came on for his 2012 debut, and Callum shifted to right back. Meke scored another soft goal; Mataio showed his inexperience in goal by being caught out of position. But once again Salmon responded to level the score, this time Craig nutmegged the right back for Steve to run on to, and Steve drew the ball back to Sam who once again calmly slotted for his second. Meke now pressed and were rewarded with a goal from a corner and a quick through ball. Had they scored again to make it 5-2 then the game would have been over, but the defence rallied, a defiance defined by an Adam Holloway tackle, early contender for tackle of the season, lunging at a runaway attacker to foil a one on one attempt. So to the break at 4-2 down but well in the game, as long as the Salmon were first to score. And we were first to score, albeit after a long period of stalemate. When the breakthrough came it was once again an outrageous piece of skill and vision from Steve; receiving a throw in from Sam deep on the right Steve floated a looping shot high into the box, the keeper was well out of position and could only flap as it nestled in the net. 4-3 Soon after it was level again, as Adam Ray released Craig on half way, the keeper was not having a good day, once again caught way out of position to allow the skipper an open net. 4-4 Meke responded with their own outrageous goal, the left winger was allowed to run unimpeded past two Salmon, before firing past a stranded Mataio; all that hard work undone to give the lead back to Meke with 20 to go. Salmon pushed on for the equaliser, and it came from 2011’s Silver Boot Matthew Fulton. Pushed into the right back slot due to an ankle injury from a scything foul, Fulton came up for a corner and when the ball landed at his feet he declined, opting instead for a knee into the netting- no matter, they all count! 5-5 With 15 to go Salmon would be content with a draw, and sat nice and deep. We got one last chance to snatch it though, when a quick ball from midfield bounced through the legs of the last man to allow Craig a clear run on goal- the defender recovered to get alongside Craig and clipped him just outside the box- James Stewart, now with whistle, blew for the free kick as Meke moaned about a phantom dive. The wall was set centre goal and the keeper decided to hide behind it, allowing a free look at the corner-Craig obliged with a driving shot for 6-5. The last ten minutes was backs to the wall- Dave, Callum, Nic, Lane, Steve and Ray all crammed the box, as Mataio now stepped up big time to command the air. With only Sam up front Salmon allowed Meke opportunities to attack at will. But the Salmon were stubborn and resolute, and tenaciously asked James to blow the whistle every ten seconds for the final two minutes before he obliged. What does this say about the Salmon? It says we still have the fighting spirit we were once renowned for, it says we like to ship soft goals, but conversely can score just as easily, and it says that we are now in third spot and have every right to challenge for the title.

Two wins in a row

Salmon sitting pretty in third after a 11 goal thriller v. Waterside Karori Meke- More to follow

A win at last!-BNU Plague 1- WU Salmon 5

Brooklyn Northern United Plague 1- Wellington United Salmon 5
(Halftime 0-0)
Wellington College Turf

Scorers:
Craig Ireson (4)
Steve Westcott

MOM Points:
Craig Ireson (3 pts)
Steve Westcott (2 pts)
Adam Holloway (1 pt)

Last night marked a triumphant return to form, and points for Wellington United Salmon on the spanking new Wgtn College Turf.

A strong first half defensive effort repelled the Plague, and the Salmon were unlucky not to open the scoring with a dominance reflected by 6 corners to 1. Only some scrambling defence and keeping heroics from BNU kept the scoresheet clean. At our end the defence was ably marshalled by Adam Holloway, and after Tom Murphy went off new recruit Tom Haig slotted seamlessly into his place.

The 2nd half had the Salmon running with a strong tail wind. A lung bursting run by Steve Westcott ten minutes in had him shake off three defenders and drive to the byeline, where he shot at the near post despite an unmarked Skipper and Fulton in the middle- was it to be a spurned chance for the Salmon to open the scoring? not a chance, the shot deflected off the post into the path of Craig who toe-poked it home. Salmon now found a groove, and a ball won by Ashby in the centre was collected by Craig who picked out the right wing run of Steve W. With an acre of space Steve ran into the box and powered home the 2nd.

Salmon kept applying pressure winning free kicks and corners galore. After 25 minutes one such corner was taken by craig and was hit far too well, evading the head of Nic and Tom, and the flapping arms of the 'keeper to land directly in the net- 3-0.

BNU decided to roll the dice and pushed forward- their persistence paid off after a long shot was parried by Rich Martin and a BNU striker followed up unmarked to slot their opener.

BNU really pushed hard now, and despite sopme ropey moments like unmarked players heading straight to Rich Martin, the Salmon slowly regained some ascendancy thanks to some trench warfare at the back.

With BNU pushing their was loads of room to exploit at the back and a Nic Preddle through ball had Craig one v one with the keeper; the lobbed finish landing just inside the left hand post for 4-1.

BNU were now out for the count and Ashby and Fulton, still full of running both had opportunities to increase the lead. Salmon's move of the night was started from the back; Rich Martin rolled the ball to Arich Hallam who found Nic Preddle, unable to send it long Nic passed back to Rich who spied the run of Craig- a well weighted long ball set the skipper free once more and he didn't waste it- firing past the keeper fro 5-1.

The Salmon were hungry for more and Steve Westcott, Tom Haig, Nic and Craig marauded down the right. In the end the clock was the enemy, although in this mood the salmon coudl have played until the kid's came skipping back for wood shop in the morning.

A thoroughly deserved win against a good natured opposition. well done lads, lets build on this momentum.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Great to see the fans flock to the bleachers as well, with Kahu supporting on the sideline.

The table is still extremly tight and we are well positioned:

http://www.sportingpulse.com/comp_info.cgi?c=1-4205-0-209957-0&pool=1&round=0&a=LADDER