Mt. Wellington v. Central United, 17/8/97

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Mount Mauled By Super Central

by Jeremy Ruane

Central United's rise to the forefront of New Zealand soccer continued unabated at Bill McKinlay Park on August 17, when they shattered Mt. Wellington's hopes of a second consecutive Chatham Cup Final appearance by hammering last year's runners-up 4-1.

In doing so, Billy Harris' blend of youth and experience realised their own club's dreams of a first-ever final, and how they deserve it.

It's hard to believe that just five years ago, Central, Mt. Albert-Ponsonby, Mt. Roskill, Kawerau Town and Oratia United were involved in a titanic battle for promotion from the Bluebird Premier League to the new Superclub Championship.

Of that quintet, only Central has gone on to greater things, namely a third placing in the Summer National League, and now their first Chatham Cup Final.

Early in the 1996 Summer League season, then Central coach Kevin Fallon said to me, "The sky's the limit for this club. They'll win the Chatham Cup before you know it". Prophetic words, which I hope the former All Whites coach, despite his difference with the Kiwitea Street club, will follow up with a message of congratulations, should Terry Torrens raise the coveted trophy above his head at Park Island on September 27.

On this showing, Napier City Rovers will be hard-pressed to prevent Central's captain from doing so. The Placemakers Cook Street-sponsored side were too good in every area of the park for their Fox Tapes-sponsored counterparts, and would still have triumphed even if a handful of key incidents had gone The Mount's way.

The first of these came inside the first two minutes of play. Bruce Hill cleared a Heath McCormack header off the line, as the home team forced a corner which Jeff Campbell delivered with his usual precision.

The second incident came in the sixteenth minute. Harris' timely tackle foiled McCormack in the act of shooting, and following the resulting corner, Peter Evans somehow kept out a Kara Waetford drive which, I'm certain, the 'keeper never saw coming through the crowd towards goal.

There was another close call for Central much later on, but by the time "Peter Rabbit" had performed his heroics, the visitors were 2-0 up, courtesy two goals in as many minutes.

The first, in the thirteenth minute, was a rasping Torrens drive which had "goal" written all over it from the moment the ball left his trusty left peg. A Nick Hyde error gave Wynton Rufer the sort of space the former Werder Bremen ace relishes, and he duly raced to the byline before pulling the ball back perfectly into the path of his late-arriving skipper.

Goal number two went the way of a young man who's making a bit of a name for himself since being pushed into Central's frontline just a matter of weeks ago. Craig Ashton's inexperience in a defensive role was shown up for all to see in the fifteenth minute, and Matt Fowler, then Harris, took full advantage. The player-coach rolled the ball into the path of Michael Loftus, who made no mistake.

The two-goal cushion was ideal, as far as Central were concerned, to allow them to relax and play the flowing football to which we have become accustomed. Soon enough, the chances came along, with Rufer volleying over in the 23rd minute, then somehow turning the ball over the top in the 38th minute when scoring appeared an easier option. A minute later, Loftus had been denied by Nigel Kelly.

Central to much of what Central did well was Ivan Vicelich. Even by his standards, he had a huge game, possibly his best yet in a Central shirt. He fully merited the man-of-the-match award, and few would have baulked at his scoring a goal as well, such was his contribution to the winners' cause.

He went close to doing so, three minutes before half-time, shooting after carving his way into The Mount's penalty area. Kelly parried, but only as far as Loftus, who claimed his second, and Central's third, to all but seal the game.

The home team had gone close to pulling a goal back on the half-hour, but the sight of the ball sailing over the crossbar from the boot of Leigh Kenyon, after Kelvin Sefton had headed a Waetford free-kick into the youngster's path, was further proof, if any more were needed, that this was going to be Central's day.

Early in the second spell, Harris twice went close, but when McCormack and James Paterson combined to pick out Sean Armstrong rising unchallenged on the far post, from where he headed in off the upright in the 55th minute, the home team's hopes sky-rocketed.

They proceeded to grow in confidence, and took the game to the team against whom they scored four goals in seven minutes just three weeks ago. But this was a different Central, a more resilient Central than that which took the field on July 26. Nonetheless, they found themselves on a rocky road in the seventieth minute, albeit briefly.

Hyde burst down the right before delivering a cross to the far post, where Armstrong again rose high. He headed the ball across the out-of-position Evans and towards the target, and from point-blank range, McCormack nipped in to make absolutely certain.

The celebrations began, but were abruptly curtailed by the sight of the raised flag of Kevin Moffat, the former Auckland match official who is now based in Wellington. McCormack, apparently, was adjudged offside, which seems a little hard to fathom given that he had started his run from deep. So the goal was ruled out, much to Central's relief.

Eight minutes later, the Kiwitea Street club made absolutely certain that their season would last until the end of September. Sean Bell, another of the stream of youngsters proudly wearing yellow, blue and white, gave Sefton such a torrid time in the penalty area that his downfall, literally, was inevitable. Up stepped Fowler to convert the spot-kick - 4-1.

Mount sought to gain further consolation from a game which was, by now, well and truly beyond them. But Evans proved equal to the efforts of Kenyon and Armstrong, his save from the latter being a splendid one in stoppage time.

Central, during those last twelve minutes, sought a fifth. Harris hit a screamer inches the wrong side of the upright in the 81st minute, while in stoppage time, a wonderful solo run by Vicelich saw him slalom through The Mount's defences before unleashing his drive, only for Kelly to deny him again.

But he, and his Mount team-mates, couldn't deny Central their moment of glory, and a first-ever win at Bill McKinaly Park to boot. How they deserved it.

Chatham Cup