Metro v. Albany United, 15/9/04

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Albany Come From Two Goals Down To Beat Metro

by Jeremy Ruane

Albany United put themselves on course to clinch a place in the 2005 Northern Premier League on September 15, storming home to defeat Metro 5-3 at Bill McKinlay Park in the promotion play-off encounter after finding themselves two goals down inside fifteen minutes at the hands of the Premier League combination.

Metro got off to the perfect start, with captain Gerard Smith’s rasping drive flying across Albany goalkeeper Ben Devenney and into the bottom far corner of the net, after the scorer had been picked out by Richard Beeston’s third minute corner.

Straight from the kick-off, Rob Ward ran at the Metro defence, but directed his shot at Craig Wilkins. Seconds later, a sickening clash of heads between Metro’s Arek Kubicki and Albany’s Thomas Le Mouton left both players prone, the United youngster out for the count before he hit the turf.

A paramedic unit was called to the ground to administer the appropriate treatment to Le Mouton, who, sadly, was far from being in a fit state to continue - a sobering sight for all present.

The aftermath of the head clash made up the bulk of the twelve minutes’ stoppage time added onto the end of the first half, but there was water aplenty to go under the bridge before that juncture came to pass.

Indeed, after a tame Bradley Newall shot at Devenney, following the combination play of Daniel Markham and Jason Beeston on the left in the fourteenth minute, Metro doubled their lead sixty seconds later courtesy a deflected piledriver from Wild. Devenney stood no chance as the midfielder smashed the ball home from twenty-five yards to reward the approach work of Newall, Beeston and Smith.

While Metro were still mentally celebrating their second goal, Albany struck back with their first of the night, in the seventeenth minute. Adam Forrest split the defence with a pass which allowed Michael Anderson to get in behind Metro’s rearguard on the right. His cross was flicked on by Ward for Todd Danks, who bundled the ball home from close range to put the First Division side on the board - 2-1.

Danks and Wild went close to altering the scoreboard over the course of the next ten minutes with fiercely struck efforts deserving of better fate, while in the 27th minute, Chris Brahme got the better of Richard Beeston, only for the defender to recover and poke the ball away from the striker.

In doing so, he also poked it past his ‘keeper, and the flailing figure of Wilkins was greatly relieved to see the ball hit the post and ricochet back past the closing figure of Brahme, who was following in.

Metro scrambled clear on this occasion, while on the half-hour, Wilkins was fortunate not to be yellow-carded for a clear case of ungentlemanly conduct, as he prevented Albany from taking a quick throw-in to take advantage of his being well out of position, the goalkeeper having outsprinted Danks in a race for the ball, a result of a woefully under-hit back-pass.

With so much at stake, there was plenty of feeling beginning to come through in this match, and before too long, referee Hengo Sioneloto was copping an earful from players and supporters of both teams for his lenient outlook on life. He made up for it with seven yellow cards in the second half, but a couple of players were fortunate that the caution they received in the second spell wasn’t their second of the game.

Play continued, and the combined efforts of Wilkins and Richard Beeston proved suffice to thwart Ward in the 41st minute, after Danks had played his roving team-mate through. Four minutes later, Albany must have been starting to wonder what they had to do to garner an equaliser - how the ball stayed out after this particular raid defies logic!

Anderson picked out Danks on the far post, and the striker flicked the ball inside. It bounced over the head of the gangly figure of Ward, and as both he and Brahme raced in to turn the ball home inside the six-yard box, Wilkins played piggy in the middle, but managed to swat the ball to safety.

After Newall had headed a Richard Beeston corner wide, Albany drew level in the ninth minute of first half stoppage time. Ward slipped Brahme in on the left, and he scythed across the retreating Metro defence to completely wrong-foot them before ramming home the equaliser from fifteen yards.

Straight from the kick-off, Albany came storming downfield once more, and but for a superb save at full stretch by Wilkins, would have struck again before half-time, Ward’s curling effort being thwarted by the goalkeeper after Anderson and Danks had teamed up down the right.

The second half was just four minutes old when

Danks’ corner picked out Nadir Harrat, whose header flashed just over the bar - how the Albany youngster would have loved to find the net on the day he was called up to play for the NZ U-20s against their Chilean counterparts in a fortnight’s time!

Instead, it sparked Metro back into life as an attacking force, with both Wild and Newall denied by Devenney in the next six minutes, the goalkeeper scrambling clear from the latter, who took out his frustrations on Alex Mare as the defender cleared the danger, an action which earned the first yellow card of the evening.

Albany’s response was to take the lead for the first time in the match, in the 62nd minute. Harrat’s free-kick was cleared, but only as far as Danks, who set sail for goal on a solo run and didn’t disappoint Albany’s sizable support base with the outcome!

Back came Metro, who were screaming for a penalty just three minutes later, as substitute Dylan Beckham’s cross struck the arm of Glen Forrest. While there was no intent in the Albany player’s actions, the ball fell to United’s advantage, and they wasted little time in clearing the danger while Metro berated referee Sioneloto’s decision to play on - the Premier League side certainly had a case.

Seconds later, Wild raced down the right, checked inside Josh Branch and charged into the penalty area before setting up Kubicki. Glen Forrest emerged from nowhere to close him down, but the ball ricocheted back to Wild, who, this time, let fly. Devenney parried the ball, the ricochet striking Mare on the arm - cue more penalty claims, this time rightly ignored as Albany scrambled clear.

The ball got as far as Smith, some thirty yards out from goal. Metro’s captain promptly uncorked one of the best goals seen at Bill McKinlay Park this season, a stunning 67th minute screamer which did everything but talk en route to the top right-hand corner of Devenney’s net - the ‘keeper did well to even get his fingertips to it, so much do the sphere swerve and dip en route.

3-3 then, and all on for young and old, sometimes literally as tempers boiled over - the antics of Wild and Glen Forrest were more suited to Marquess of Queensbury rules than those of the game the world plays fifteen minutes from time, and both were suitably admonished for allowing their passions to overflow.

Before they had a chance to provide referee Sioneloto with their names, ranks and serial numbers, both teams had the opportunity to go ahead once more. Danks missed what, by his standards, was a sitter when put through by Ward, the striker firing across Wilkins but past the far post.

Metro’s goalkeeper produced a fine save to deny another Danks raid seconds later, after a lovely move featuring Harrat, Brahme and Adam Forrest had turned defence into attack with three incisive passes.

They certainly look to entertain as well as win, do Albany, and should Willie Forrest’s charges gain promotion, they will be a welcome and enterprising addition to the top flight of northern region soccer - it will certainly crown a remarkable rise through the grades, given they started the 2002 campaign as a Third Division side.

After Kubicki had flicked a shot at Devenney following a Wild lay-off, Albany finally got the goal which broke Metro’s spirit. It came from the penalty spot, Ward doing the honours in the 79th minute after Danks had gone down in the area under an aerial challenge from Richard Beeston, whose despair on realising the consequences of his actions was reflected in his reluctance to get up from the turf.

With Albany back in front, they went for the jugular, and after Wilkins had dealt with a tame shot on the run from Ward, United finally scored the goal which left them one victory away from Premier League football in 2005.

It came a minute from time, and was sparked by well-performed substitute Iain Howarth, who picked out Brahme. He controlled the ball neatly before slipping it into the path of Danks, who coolly tucked the ball home to clinch a 5-3 win for Albany, a result which Brahme tried to bolster before the final whistle, only for Wilkins to grab his shot at goal.

Metro: Wilkins; R. Beeston (booked, 87), Clark (Le Roux, 24 (booked, 61), Hendriks, Markham (Beckham, 46); Kubicki, Wild (booked, 75), Smith, J. Beeston; Newall (booked, 55), Yugov (Naidoo, 64)

Albany: Devenney; Branch, G. Forrest (booked, 75), Mare (booked, 86), A. Forrest (booked, 69); Anderson, Ward, Harrat, Le Mouton (Howarth, 11); Danks, Brahme

Referee: Hengo Sioneloto

Northern League