Mt. Albert-Ponsonby v. Manurewa, 25/6/95

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A Game For Young And Old Alike

by Jeremy Ruane

A match billed as the clash of the cellar-dwellers of the Smokefree Superclub Northern Region Championship competition became a celebration of the game of soccer as one for young and old alike to enjoy, as Mt. Albert-Ponsonby and Manurewa shared four goals in a June 25th clash high on entertainment value, and with a fairy-tale ending to boot.

The home team had yet to win a game this season, prior to kick-off, but started the match with the sole intention of putting that record to rights. Mark King provided the ammunition for one of the "old-aged pensioners" who'd been let out for the afternoon, the unmarked Eddie Gavigan, in the seventh minute.

His shot beat Hamish Harper, but was lacking in power, which gave Tommy Campbell the chance to stretch his aging twenty-nine-year-old (so he tells me!) legs in order to clear the ball off the line.

Manurewa gradually gained the ascendancy and struck the opening goal in the 22nd minute. Rhys Bresnahan hared away down the right, on receipt of Darryl Wildbore's through ball, and drew MAP's 'keeper Rodney Deacon out of the goal, before firmly planting his shot into it.

Ernie Rogers came close next, his curled effort being headed off the line by Shiva Muthu, with Deacon beaten all ends up.

Two goals in three minutes just before half-time reactivated the game, which seemed to have slipped into neutral. MAP struck first, Gavigan's free-kick finding Michael Burgess on the far post, from where he fired home in the 42nd minute.

Two minutes later, 'Rewa regained the lead, with the earlier scorer, Bresnahan, again responsible for the celebrations, this after Rogers had done all the hard work on the left.

'Rewa looked to seal it early in the second spell, but Deacon pulled off a stunning reflex save to deny Brett Caddy from point-blank range. The 'keeper then saved from Wildbore, before MAP's aging skipper, Martin Jennison, headed a Nick Russo effort off the line.

This incident took place just shy of the seventy minute mark, and it would be fair to say that that was the last time 'Rewa sighted the whites of Deacon's eyes. Because for the rest of the game, the home team proceeded to run riot.

Pulling the strings was the young-at-heart Dave Taylor. Now aged 44, the former New Zealand international turned back the clock to demonstrate the art of making the ball do the work, a feature of the game seemingly lost on many of the younger generation, who are all too often encouraged to run around the pitch for ninety minutes at breakneck speed, thus allowing little room for true footballing skill to be seen.

Within two minutes of taking control, passes from Taylor had sent both Roy Suter and Burgess scurrying away. The former tried, unsuccessfully, to round Harper before shooting; the latter was unceremoniously tripped inside the penalty area.

Referee Ian Walker, a Christchurch official of high repute who did little to blot his copybook as far as I was concerned - doubtless the six (!) referee's assessors present will disagree with me - had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Up stepped Jennison, and five yards wide flew the ball. It was to prove a costly miss.

Taylor again turned the screw with eight minutes to go, releasing Jennison with a lovely pass. Harper was equal to the shot, but had no chance a minute later, as MAP's player-coach crowned his man-of-the-match display with a goal of exquisite quality, to end the scoring on a fairy-tale note.

There seemed little danger of 'Rewa's goal being breached from some thirty yards out on the angle, as Taylor considered his options at a free-kick. But the old master stepped up and curled a gem of a shot over the wall and perfectly into the postage stamp area of the goal, to Harper's left - the type of strike you wish you could see on video over and over again.

The boss celebrated as if it was his first-ever goal. MAP's fans celebrated the strike as if it were the winner. If "Jenno"'s penalty had gone in, it would have been.

As it was, the skipper had a late chance to redeem himself, courtesy another Taylor free-kick, this flicked on by Teo Vego. But it wasn't to be Jennison's day, as he lifted the ball over Harper, but inches over the bar as well.

2-2 it finished, a fitting result. And while someone at 'Rewa had forgotten to do their homework for the second year running - the visitors had to borrow MAP's change strip once again to avoid a colour clash - the old heads on the pitch showed that being the wrong side of thirty doesn't mean you're past it as a player.

So take a bow Tommy Campbell (37), Martin Jennison (38), Eddie Gavigan (thirty-something) and Dave Taylor (44) - proof that soccer is a game for young and old alike!!

Northern League