Central United v. North Shore United, 26/6/05

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Shore Edge Central In Seven-Goal Thriller

by Jeremy Ruane

In stark contrast to their dreadful early-season encounter at Allen Hill Stadium, Central United and North Shore United served up a seven-goal thriller at Kiwitea Street on June 26, with the visitors prevailing 4-3 in a barnstorming Northern Premier League encounter which easily ranks as one of the season's most entertaining spectacles.

It was a game which had just about everything you could wish for - an early goal, a storming comeback, a stirring fightback, a late winner, and numerous thrills and spills along the way, including a late red card for arguably the most industrious player on the park.

Sadly, games of this calibre are becoming conspicuous by their infrequency - there was a time, not that long ago, when you could count on at least one memorable game per weekend of this nature taking place. Not any more.

This one started with a bang, and kept on firing! A mere ninety-five seconds had elapsed when Matt Cunneen unleashed the first shot of the day, which Central's goalkeeper, Jamie Warren, smothered.

He promptly sent the ball up-field, with Luiz Del Monte its ultimate recipient, on the right. From there, he fired in a cross which the retreating Cunneen should have gobbled up for afternoon tea. But the

defender got it all wrong, and Heath McCormack didn't need a second invitation, and gleefully hooked the ball home past a stranded Simon Eaddy after just 136 seconds - Central, 1-0.

With the exception of a Stuart Wilson charge down the left for Shore, and subsequent cross-shot which narrowly cleared the angle of bar and far post, Central did everything but score again in the next ten minutes!

Paul Urlovic raced down the left and whipped in a cross which McCormack only just failed to connect with two minutes after the goal. Then it was Chad Coombes' turn to create a chance for the early goalscorer which Simon Eaddy turned round the post.

Come ten minutes, an Urlovic strike was deflected for a corner, which Matt Fowler delivered onto the head of Paul Vodanovich. His header crashed against the crossbar, while three minutes later, a teasing Del Monte cross-shot had Eaddy at full stretch to divert the sphere away from the front corner of the net.

After the ever-combative Chris Jackson and Rob Lee had both gone close for Shore, the ferocious tempo with which the game had opened abated somewhat, only to pick up again around the half-hour mark.

Then, both goalkeepers were in action within a minute of each other, with Eaddy grabbing an Urlovic cross under pressure at the second attempt, seconds before Warren thwarted a long-range effort from Jackson, who was beginning to grow in influence in his central midfield role.

In the 33rd minute, Jackson flicked on an Eaddy clearance to Brad Scott, who, with his first touch since coming on as an early substitute for the ineffective Daniel Ellensohn, laid the ball off neatly for Wilson, who, in his stride, sent a low drive careering inches past Warren's left-hand upright.

Central didn't heed the warning, and Shore duly equalised soon after Urlovic, on receipt of a beautifully weighted Joel Mathews through ball, had - not for the first time in his career! - complicated simplicity by trying to beat one too many opponents in the penalty area, instead of lashing the ball into the net and discussing the other options available to him afterwards!

Wilson it was who brought about parity, catching Fowler in possession and careering clear down the left as a result, before cutting inside and beating Warren all ends up with an accomplished finish six minutes before the break.

Urlovic's attempts to restore Central's advantage just before the interval saw his header, from a Fowler corner, bullet past the post. His next effort, a through ball for McCormack which saw the striker take a tumble under pressure and referee Nick Waldron ignore the home team's pleas for a free-kick, came in the 61st minute, by which time Shore had taken the lead.

As in the first half, the visitors' goal came about from Fowler again getting caught in possession. As referee Waldron played a good advantage - Fowler's efforts to redress the balance were brushed off by Sam Bailey - Scott looked to exploit, with a through ball, the gap left in the heart of Central's defence by Vodanovich's absence, the centre-back having been injured in an off-the-ball incident seconds earlier.

Through charged Wilson, but this time, he had Mathews on his shoulder. The speedy striker went on an angled run which engineered the space from which he thrashed a 57th minute shot on the turn between the covering figures of Mathews and Uhlmann, and under the diving Warren, to put Shore in front.

Eleven minutes later, they were 3-1 to the good, Scott showing all his predatory penalty box instincts to pounce on a loose ball and lash it home, as Central failed to clear their lines from this particular Jackson corner.

The home team rallied swiftly to this latest setback, and after the well-placed Cameron McCarthy had cleared a Scott Greenhalgh drive through a crowded goalmouth, Central hauled themselves back into the contest in the 74th minute.

Del Monte sent McCormack charging towards the by-line in pursuit of a probing pass, which the striker gathered before wrong-footing the retreating McCarthy and picking out Urlovic on the penalty spot with a

cross. The striker arced a twelve-yard header over the stranded Eaddy and into the top left hand corner of his net - 3-2 to Shore, game on!

Within five minutes, the game was well and truly on, as Central drew level - 3-3! Fowler and McCormack combined on the right, with the latter touching the ball to Urlovic. After dribbling past two defenders, his progress was swiftly thwarted, but not that of Greenhalgh, who sent another low drive arrowing through the throngs and into the bottom far corner of the net to set up a grandstand finish!

The patrons present were duly treated to just such a climax, with chances falling at both ends of the park as the combatants desperately sought a match-winning goal - for Central, to claim third place a point off the pace, and for Shore, to significantly ease their relegation concerns.

It was the latter who achieved their objective. After Scott had twice gone close following Jackson crosses, he got the mix right five minutes from time. It was Jackson again who was the source, and as with Scott's earlier goal, Central failed to clear the danger from the corner the former All White delivered. Cue last season's Golden Boot winner, who climbed to third in this year's standings with his two-goal haul from this match.

Back came Central, with Fowler breaking down the right two minutes from time. His cross was spilled by Eaddy, but as Urlovic swooped to stoop and head the ball goalwards, the `keeper swiftly recovered his error by snatching the sphere off the striker's head.

Coombes, whose industrious performance throughout this affair was one of his best in a Central shirt, undid a lot of his hard labouring by committing a second bookable offence in stoppage time, which gave referee Waldron little option but to direct him towards the dressing rooms.

With the midfielder went Central's last hopes of a dramatic late equaliser, Shore seeing out the seven minutes of stoppage time - including a last-ditch effort from Greenhalgh which cleared the crossbar at the death - to clinch a stirring 4-3 victory, their first away win of the season, a result which maintains their remarkable record of having won every Premier League clash between the clubs played at Kiwitea Street.

Central: Warren; Fowler, Uhlmann (booked, 63), Vodanovich (Rowlands, 58), Mathews; Del Monte, Coombes (booked, 60, 90 - sent off), Greenhalgh, Quansah (Kroon, 67); Urlovic, McCormack (booked, 30)

North Shore: Eaddy; Beard (F. O`Rourke, 86), Cunneen, McCarthy; Puna, Lee (Hitchen, 71), Jackson (booked, 21), Van Rooyen, Bailey; Ellensohn (Scott, 29), Wilson

Referee: Nick Waldron

Northern League