Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Wainui give Petone a huge fright

Scott McLeod on the ball
After losing against Island Bay ended Wainuis chances of progressing from the group stage of the Hilton Petone Cup it was time to face off against Central League oppositon, local rivals and tournament hosts Petone. 

If Petone were expecting an easy time of it they certainly had another thing coming as Wainui came out firing with all guns blazing, even coach Scott McLeod jr togged out and picked himself to start the game and with a very busy Cam playing up front with a broken arm (big respect for that) showing us some Messi like touches Wainui found themselves two goals to the good after half an hour of play.

It wasn't until the second goal was scored that Petone suddenly sparked into life.  They pulled a goal back three minutes later from the penalty spot and were level right on the stroke of half time.  Local hero Ralphie made an appearnce for the second half and made some crucial saves to help keep the scores level.

Cam with his broken arm battles hard
With 20 minutes remaining Ralphie managed to keep out another Petone effort but the striker reacted quickest to the rebound and gave his team the lead for the first time in the game.  The game wound down with neither team creating much after although Wainui to their credit never gave up the chase.

The final game in the round robin next week sees Wainui come up against Stop Out, hopefully the boys can keep up the pace and tempo displayed against Petone and give Stop Out a run for their money.