Onehunga Sports v. Metro, 25/5/96

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Sports Swept Aside By Irresistible Force

by Jeremy Ruane

Bluebird Superclub Championship leaders Feltonmix Metro produced some at times peerless soccer at Fergusson Park on May 25, as local rivals Onehunga Sports were swept aside by a team performance with which no others seen to date this year can begin to compare.

Metro were, quite simply, irresistible. 8-0, the final scoreline, gives some indication of just how good they were. After all, Sports are not a team which suffers defeats very often. When they do go down, the result is usually a close-run thing. But 8-0? Little wonder coach Tony Porter shook his head ruefully after the game, because his side didn't play as badly as the scoreline might suggest.

Stu Roberts' third minute strike, an exquisite chip of Greg Garlick after Mike Kearley had put him in the clear, gave no indication of what was to come.

Indeed, it could have been 1-1 within two minutes. Metro's goalkeeper, Wayne Roach, produced a brilliant save from point-blank range to deny Blair Ramsey, as Sports looked to become the first team this season to breach Metro's goal-line.

The chances came thick and fast at both ends, as this local derby lived up to its pre-match expectations. Keith Bright came closest for Sports, while Willie Thompson and Shaun O'Mara were narrowly astray from distance for the visitors.

Two goals in five minutes just before the interval effectively sealed the points for Metro. The first of this brace, in the 37th minute, was class personified. O'Mara controlled a bouncing ball well, before avoiding a challenge and passing to Thompson. Off went the former Blockhouse Bay man on a mazy run which, after evading three tackles, culminated in a twenty-five yard screamer flashing past Garlick. 2-0, and a brilliant individual goal to boot.

Danny McHenery slammed home number three three minutes before half-time, as Kearley and Roberts combined to good effect to create the opportunity. But this wasn't the last incident of an eventful half, as referee Graham Whitford rightly dismissed veteran Sports midfielder Brian Jack for his second bookable offence.

The home team came out fighting in the second spell, Bright signalling their intentions with a shot which crashed against the crossbar. But after Garlick had superbly denied Thompson, Steve Goddard's volleyed 54th minute goal made the game safe for Metro.

Not that Sports gave up. A good fifteen minute spell for the home team saw them pin Metro inside their own half, but all they had to show for their efforts was a 71st minute header from captain Brent Roza, which flashed over the crossbar after Alf Manuel had picked out his unmarked team-mate with a pinpoint free-kick.

The last fifteen minutes saw Metro attacks flowing like fine wine. The fifth goal was a superb one. Roach's clearance was flicked on by Benny Hall for Thompson. He cut in from the left and curled in a peach of a goal into the top far corner of Garlick's net. Shades of Kenny Dalglish, this one.

Straight from the kick-off, Thompson was in the thick of things again. He was the provider this time, sending Roberts away with a measured crossfield pass. The speedster evaded Roza's challenge to leave himself one-on-one with Garlick, and with Hall in support. But with his team-mate unmarked in front of an unattended goal, Roberts went for glory, and copped a few dirty looks for his profligacy, the ball drifting over the crossbar.

Not to worry, for there were just two minutes to wait for goal number six. Roza and Garlick found themselves on totally different wavelengths, and to add insult to injury, the defender's clearance cannoned off the harrying Hall into the unguarded net.

Nine minutes from time came Metro's seventh. McHenery thumped the ball home unerringly from ten yards, after Paul Colegate had done all the hard work for him.

Player-coach Sean Hird, clearly satisfield with the quality of his team's display, couldn't let the opportunity pass without at least attempting to get on the scoresheet himself. But Garlick saved his deflected shot, after he had linked delightfully with Roberts and McHenery.

Thompson claimed the first hat-trick of his senior career four minutes from time, with a glorious chip of Garlick. McHenery attempted to join his team-mate as a hat-trick hero in the remaining minutes, but it was not to be, Garlick doing well to narrow the angle as the striker sped through on goal, after a flowing move involving Metro's three substitutes on the day, Chris Gwin, Colegate and Hall.

Eight proved enough for Metro, however, as Whitford's final whistle brought some welcome relief to Sports' plight. Metro's fans, meanwhile, didn't want the fun to stop, and who could blame them? This was football at its very best - it's a shame so few (100?) were present to witness it.

Northern League