Grand Final 2008

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Grand Final 2008

Waitakere Claim Maiden NZFC Crown

by Jeremy Ruane

Waitakere United capped off an impressive season in the Southern Trust NZ Football Championship by defeating Team Wellington 2-0 at Douglas Field on April 20, in the competition's Grand Final.

In a match which never rose to any great heights, the home team enjoyed the only chance of the first twenty-five minutes when Benjamin Totori, upon being picked out by Christopher Bale, scythed in off the left and let fly from twenty yards. Phil Imray turned his sixth minute effort round the post.

This effort apart, the opening stages were cagey, to put it mildly. The game needed a goal - badly, and Wellington went close to providing it in the 26th minute. Raf di Gregorio slipped the ball through for Daniel Ellensohn, who squared it to Luis Corrales.

The Costa Rican's effort was blocked, but di Gregorio won it back and played the ball across to Wiremu Patrick. The midfielder's one-two with Ellensohn allowed the striker to create a bit of space for himself, so when Patrick played the ball back to him, Ellensohn let fly with a twenty-yarder, which he directed straight at Richard Gillespie.

On the half-hour, Waitakere came closest yet to opening the scoring. Jonathan Perry and Neil Sykes combined, with the latter steering a cross in towards Allan Pearce. The striker's volleyed attempt bounced to safety off Imray's right-hand post, the `keeper conspicuous by his absence from the general vicinity.

Two more United attempts materialised in the next seven minutes, both engineered by Neil Emblen. Both Commins Menapi and Pearce directed the end product over the bar in each instance, while in between times, a long-range free-kick from di Gregorio gave Gillespie cause to warm his gloves as it zoomed towards the upper portion of the target.

Danny Hay's day was done four minutes before half-time, the long-serving defender hobbling off after being inadvertently caught on the back of the ankle by the falling figure of Ellensohn, as Hay looked to shepherd the ball back to Gillespie.

It prompted the introduction of Jake Butler, but while Wellington were working out which area of the park the newcomer was going to occupy, Totori scythed in off the left flank once more. After dashing across a couple of defenders, he picked out Pearce with his pass, the accuracy of which was far better than the recipient's subsequent shot!

Totori was in the action once more in the shadows of the half-time whistle, Butler having released him down the right at pace. The Solomon Islander got to the by-line from where he whipped a low cross into the goalmouth.

The retreating figure of Karl Whalen couldn't get out of the way in time, and off Team Wellington's defender the ball ricocheted past Imray high into the net - 1-0, and you'd have got sizable odds on an “oggie” being the source of the first goal in the game.

Coming as it did on the stroke of half-time, the game-breaking goal set up the second half. Wellington, needing to win to qualify for next season's OFC Champions League competition at the expense of Auckland City, had to chase the game against a team which had conceded just seventeen goals in twenty-five NZFC and O-League fixtures going into this match.

With the midfield trio of di Gregorio, Patrick and Darren Cheriton now being afforded a tad more room by the Waitakere engine room, which had shut their opposites down in splendid fashion throughout the first spell, it didn't take long for play to open up, as the visitors threw caution to the wind in an effort to get back on level terms.

In the 53rd minute, the three amigos combined superbly, di Gregorio's [probing pass and the driving run of Patrick combining to engineer an opening for Cheriton, who was splendidly closed down by the fast-advancing figure of Gillespie, the goalkeeper spreading himself well to foil the midfielder at close quarters.

Back came Waitakere, Paul Seaman setting up Pearce to lash a twenty-yard grasscutter across the face of goal. This miss proved to be beneficial for the home team, for after Sean Douglas had directed a twisting header wide of the mark after being picked out by Cheriton, Pearce struck the goal which killed off the contest.

The catalyst to it was the 65th minute introduction of substitute Roy Krishna, for the tiring Totori. The Fijian was instantly into the action, igniting a counter-attack by launching a right-wing raid in which Pearce was particularly prominent.

As he approached the edge of the penalty area, Pearce exchanged passes with Krishna, who had carried on his run after bursting out of defence. The newcomer's return pass was exquisite, splitting the defence to allow Pearce to dart in behind it and leave himself one-on-one with the advancing figure of Imray.

The striker, with his most recent miss still fresh in his mind, didn't hesitate, and steered home a beauty across the lanky custodian and in by the far post to double Waitakere's advantage, and leave Wellington with a mountain to climb.

Graham Little - this was his last match before

retirement - slipped Ellensohn in on the left in the 68th minute, but the striker's tight-angled shot was saved by Gillespie, albeit at the second attempt.

After Menapi and Halstead - a wild volley - had exchanged attempts on goal, Krishna set his sights on goal, racing past Cheriton and into the penalty area before unleashing a low drive which had Imray at full stretch.

His opposite number produced an even more spectacular denial in the 73rd minute to deny Little's twenty-yarder, Gillespie's flying one-handed save to his right effectively breaking the spirit of the Wellington players.

For they mustered just two more attempts on goal before running out of ideas. Substitute Sam Blackburn stood up Bazeley before rattling the sidenetting, while he teamed up with Halstead and Corrales in the 77th minute to present Cheriton with a shooting chance, with which Gillespie was little troubled.

From this point, Waitakere ran the clock down, having done enough to claim their maiden NZFC crown at the expense of opponents who have enjoyed their best season yet in the revamped version of the national league, but have nothing to show for their efforts.

By winning the Grand Final, United ensured that their predecessors as national champions, Auckland City, will join them in next season's O-League. But it's the winning of this season's version which now occupies the West Auckland club's thoughts.

Their final games of a marathon season see United take on Kossa FC, with the first leg of the 2007-8 OFC Champions League Final taking place in the Solomon Islands on Saturday.

The second leg, at Douglas Field on May 11, could see Waitakere clinch a clean sweep of all the silverware available to them this season, with the NZFC Premiership, the NZFC Grand Final and the National Youth League crowns already under lock and key in the trophy cabinet.

Waitakere: Gillespie; Bazeley, Hay (Butler, 41), Perry, Emblen; Bale (booked, 22), Seaman (booked, 87), Sykes (booked, 29); Pearce (booked, 33), Menapi (Koprivcic, 76), Totori (booked, 59) (Krishna, 65)

Wellington: Imray; Schaeffers (Halstead, 69), Whalen, Douglas, Howe (booked, 23); di Gregorio, Patrick (Blackburn, 64), Cheriton; Ellensohn, Little, Corrales

Referee: Mike Hester

National League