10 Man Mid Canterbury win tough battle
The Can Staff Mid Canterbury Seniors finished the game on Saturday with only 10 men, but a
valuable three points after overcoming Waimak United 2-0 at the Domain. On a warm sunny day
and with the pitch looking in tremendous condition, the Green and Golds welcomed back Matt
Amos and Adam George who had missed last week’s game against Western. Elliot Jones and
Nathan Kok were the players missing from last week’s line up. The game started evenly with few
chances created in the opening 15 minutes, until the home team began to dominate possession
forcing a number of corners. From a Jack Roberts deep left footed in swinger, Greg Feutz nodded
back across the goal line but no one was there to provide the finishing touch.
Five minutes later the home team was in front when Matt Amos got well forward in support of the
attack and as the ball came clear he made space for the shot and dispatched a low drive through
a crowd of players into the bottom corner. Other chances followed as Callum Saunders effort at
the near post was saved, Jack Roberts’ chip from 40 yards beat the keeper but bounced
agonizingly wide of the post and Greg Feutz turned nicely in the box and hit a firm left footer
straight at the keeper.
Eventually the pressure paid off as another Roberts corner found Feutz unmarked at the far post
and he volleyed home firmly to give the hosts a 2 goal lead.
Influential captain Graham Hannon was then forced to leave the field with an ankle knock, with 16
year old Rory Brown stepping into the midfield role. Waimak came back into the game and forced
a couple of corners which were well dealt with by Sandro in the home goal, however Sandro
could do nothing about the Waimak strikers shot which bounced back from the post after a misplaced pass had given him the opportunity.
After half time the visitors stepped up the tempo with some aggressive challenges and a constant
verbal onslaught toward the officials as tempers rose. The referee brandishing three yellows to
the Waimak team as well as cards to Steve Carr and Matt Galbraith for robust challenges. There
was further controversy in the 70th minute when Callum Saunders was shown a red card for
retaliating against a Waimak player who had just used an elbow out of sight of the referee. This
left the home team to play out the last 20 mins with only ten men. Stuart Wiseman was introduced
to provide fresh legs with Greg Feutz dropping in to midfield as the home team worked tirelessly
to close down the visitors.
Despite being down to 10 men, the home team still created chances, Austen Beats glanced a
header just wide, Greg Feutz ‘scored’ with a fine diving header but was ruled offside and Jack
Roberts’ curling free kick was well saved by the Waimak keeper. Adam George’s fine long throw
ins were also a constant threat for the Waimak defence to deal with. The visitors also had
chances with a couple of shots flashing just wide and Sandro producing a fine save denying the
Waimak striker in a one v one situation. Steve Carr and Phil Marks at centre back also dealt well
with numerous high balls pumped forward by the visitors.
As the final whistle blew the Green and Golds were delighted to take the points. Coach Peter
Roberts said “This was a hard earned three points today, Waimak are always a tough ‘in your
face’ team to play against but we were well organized, worked hard and produced enough
chances to win the game. I was delighted with our improved defensive organization. Our work
rate in midfield and up front was tremendous especially when we went down to 10 men and at set
piece time we looked very dangerous. Jack Roberts was awarded Man of the Match for his
tireless effort in midfield combined with his precision delivery of set pieces. Young Callum will
have to learn a lesson from today, even though he was elbowed, he has to learn not to retaliate,
the officials don’t always see everything in the heat of the game, but once you raise your hands to
an opponent and retaliate they have no option but to show red”
Earlier in the day the PDL team also came up against Waimak and produced a hugely improved
performance to record a 5-0 win. Stuart ‘Cowboy’ Wiseman grabbed a fine hat-trick and Davilson
Ignacio scored two as the home team dominated the visitors. The home team played some fine
passing football especially in the first half and will gain much confidence after a tough start to the
season.