Hawkes Bay United v. Wellington Phoenix, 13/12/15

The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website | home

Comeback Of The Year Produces Ten-Goal Thriller

by Jeremy Ruane

Christmas came early for the ASB Premiership at Bluewater Stadium on December 13, as in a match not originally scheduled to be televised, Hawkes Bay United produced the comeback of the year by overhauling a 4-0 half-time deficit to draw 5-5 with ten-man Wellington Phoenix in a stunning advertisement for the local game.

With the sort of wind which is de rigeur on home turf at their backs, Wellington proceeded to play Bay off the pristine playing surface in the opening half-hour, dominating from the outset with their free-flowing passing game.

They first threatened in the seventh minute, Troy Danaskos stinging Josh Hill's palms with a twenty yarder after Logan Rogerson had made the first of several forays down the left.

Seconds later, play shifted to the other end of the park as United counter-attacked, Khair Jones combining with Tom Biss on the left for the latter to unleash a curling cross-shot which Oliver Sail watched carefully as it arced narrowly past his left-hand post.

The 'keeper's resulting goal-kick ignited a Wellington raid led by the pacy Joel Stevens, who cut in off the right before playing a slide-rule through ball for young Max Mata to pursue.

Hill was off his line swiftly to frustrate the fifteen-year-old, but the 'keeper was left to ponder upon what might have been sixty seconds later while Wellington's players celebrated taking the lead.

Danaskos sparked things off on the left flank with a through ball which invited Sarpreet Singh to get to the by-line. His cross picked out Mata, who was somehow denied at close quarters by Hill. The loose ball was swiftly slammed into the roof of the net by Stevens, who was quickest to react to Hill's parried save.

United were stunned by this setback, and after James McGarry had thundered a twenty-five yarder a foot past the left-hand upright of the scrambling figure of Hill, the home team found themselves with the proverbial mountain to climb in the seventeenth minute.

Tamupiwa Dimairo was the architect of the goal, the fullback brilliantly weaving his way through three challenges in Bay's penalty area before picking out Mata with his low cross to the near post from the by-line. The striker couldn't miss - 2-0.

United had to score next, one felt, and they came desperately close to doing so just two minutes later. Cory Chettleburgh's corner picked out the head of Birhanu Taye, who sent the ball flying past Sail, only for Joe Bell to underline the benefit of having a man covering the post, where he was perfectly placed to clear off the line.

Back came Wellington, Andrew Blake desperately unlucky not to make it 3-0 in the 23rd minute when his twenty yard free-kick cannoned to safety off the base of the far post.

The visitors had but two minutes to wait before notching their third goal, however. Dimairo, Blake and McGarry all contributed to a move which saw Stevens dash past two players to the by-line, from where he set up Mata for a six-yard tap-in.

The natives couldn't believe their eyes, and nor could those watching on television - the team level on points with reigning champions Auckland City was being carved apart by a side boasting just two players in their twenties, and a handful not yet old enough to vote!

And Wellington thoroughly deserved their three-goal cushion, too, particularly with Bay failing to cotton on to the fact that the prevailing wind rendered ye olde hit and hope tactics impractical. Why Hill persevered with taking long goal-kicks into a wind which meant they travelled no further than thirty-five yards defies logic!

Every once in a while, they came to their senses and employed Wellington's passing approach, and United were nearly rewarded for such enterprise ten minutes before half-time.

Chettleburgh, Biss, Taye and the overlapping figure of Kohei Matsumoto all figured in an enterprising raid which culminated in Sam Mason-Smith heading the ball across the face of goal.

Encouraged, Bay pressed again, this time led by the charging figure of Matsumoto six minutes later. He linked with Biss, who brought Zane Sole into play, the midfielder cutting in from the left before firing a twenty-yarder over the bar.

Right on the stroke of half-time, Wellington made it 4-0. McGarry lobbed a ball over the top for Stevens to chase, the winger driving into the area before delivering a low cross to the far post which Rogerson flew in to turn home and leave Hawkes Bay staring up at a scarcely believable scoreline on the scoreboard as the teams trudged off for the half-time break.

No doubt some naughty words emerged from the lips of Bay's coach, Brett Angell, during the half-time break, given some of his charges hadn't exactly set the heather alight. One, Jones, paid the price, with Hamish Watson his replacement from the start of the second spell.

Talk about an instant impact! Within two minutes, the substitute had forged his way into the area on the left before thrashing a shot across Sail and into the far corner of the net - 4-1.

Three minutes later, Watson turned provider, his deft back-heel completing a one-two with Chettleburgh which allowed Bay's captain to power on past an opponent before ramming home United's second goal of the game from fifteen yards, the ball finding the net by the foot of Sail's right-hand post.

Now we had a game on our hands, and just two minutes later, very nearly a third Bay goal. Biss' fine

cross-field ball picked out Matsumoto, whose ball inside invited Mason-Smith to let fly. He miscued his effort, but it landed perfectly in the stride of Watson, who scooped his effort over the bar from eight yards.

Wellington took this miss as their chance to get right back on the attack, and they carved out a fine raid through the combination of Bell and Rogerson seconds later. The latter's cross had Mata as its target, but Hill managed to punch the ball off his head, and recover to prevent McGarry from capitalising on the rebound.

The danger wasn't averted, for within seconds, Stevens had latched onto the ball, cut in off the right flank and unleashed a piledriver which cannoned to safety off Hill's left-hand post, the woodwork now twice having come to Hawke's Bay's rescue.

The rebound sparked a United counter-attack, with Chettleburgh releasing Mason-Smith down the right. He picked out the unmarked figure of Biss, who had time to control the ball twelve yards out from goal, but opted to shoot first-time - over the bar the ball flew.

Back came Wellington, with Danaskos and Bell linking with Stevens in the 57th minute. His cross for Mata saw Liddicoat clatter into the striker as the fullback made a despairing lunge to clear the sphere, a challenge which gave well-performed referee Chris Kerr no option - penalty. Stevens stroked home the spot-kick with some aplomb - 5-2, and surely no way back for United now.

That certainly appeared to be the case over the course of the next seven minutes, with vital clearances by both Harrison Nash and Liddicoat denying McGarry and Stevens respectively as Wellington chased a sixth goal.

During this period, Taye, who had already been booked, was given a reprieve by referee Kerr after attempting to haul Rogerson back by his shirt as the All White raced away down the left - a second yellow card at this stage of proceedings would surely have killed off Bay's hopes of a comeback.

Instead, those hopes received an almighty boost in the 67th minute when Dylan Fox, the only other player on the park to have been booked to this point in time, was also guilty of committing a second bookable offence as he hauled down Watson some twenty-five yards out from goal, with just Sail between the striker and the target.

Unlike in Taye's case, the referee couldn't allow Fox's latest misdemeanour to go unpunished, given a goalscoring opportunity was unfolding at the time. Off he went - a game-changing moment which was emphasised by Sole's sumptuous free-kick seconds later, a gorgeous effort which arced over the wall and left Sail clutching at thin air as the net bulged behind him.

5-3 very quickly became 5-4, with United netting again in the 71st minute. Sole played the ball wide to Matsumoto, whose overlapping runs are a key component of Bay's forward forays.

The fullback played the ball inside to Watson, who evaded a challenge before picking out Mason-Smith on the far post, where he had time to control the ball then pick his spot to set up the proverbial grandstand finish.

There was only one team in it from here on in, as United threw everything but the kitchen sink at their numerically challenged opponents. Sole's angled ball in invited substitute Jade Mesias to execute the most deft of flicks which beat Sail, but hit the side-netting.

Wellington's goalkeeper, with the assistance of the covering figure of Blake, then produced a vital save at the feet of Mason-Smith, Sole having threaded the needle through the visitors' wilting rearguard.

Watson unleashed a twenty-five yard thunderbolt eight minutes from time which Sail tipped round the post at full stretch, prompting a series of United corners which may have provided reward had better use been made of the wind's strength - all too often, the delivery was over-hit.

Still the home team pressed. Watson, Mason-Smith, Mesias and Biss combined to present Liddicoat with the chance to let fly from twenty yards. Sail smothered this effort, and dived in vain to keep out a thirty-five yarder from Sole which flashed narrowly past the post with six minutes remaining.

Just when Wellington's ten men seemed to have done enough to frustrate the co-leaders' hopes of snatching a draw from the jaws of defeat, Bay did exactly that with less than ninety seconds left to play.

Watson, inevitably, was the catalyst, surging forward before linking with Biss. His cross-field ball invited Sole to deliver a volleyed cross to the far post, where Mason-Smith slid in to steer home the equaliser and conclude this amazing game in a manner fully befitting of a thrilling come-from-behind 5-5 draw, a scoreline which equals the ASB Premiership record for most goals scored in a single match.

This one was an early Christmas cracker, and ranks right up there with Auckland City's unforgettable 4-3 Christmas derby triumph over Waitakere United nine years ago as one of the ASB Premiership's all-time-great matche - City trailed 3-0 at the break on that occasion before clinching a remarkable victory in stoppage time.

Hawkes Bay: Hill; Matsumoto, Canales, Nash, Liddicoat; Sole, Chettleburgh, Taye (booked, 2o) (Mesias, 66), Jones (Watson, 46); Mason-Smith, Biss

Wellington: Sail; Dimairo, Blake, Fox (booked, 31, 67 - sent off), Danaskos; Singh, Bell, McGarry (booked, 75) (Khouchaba, 81); Stevens, Mata (Cahill-Fleury, 88), Rogerson (Evans, 69)

Referee: Chris Kerr

National League