A game of two halves

Wainui were soundly beaten 5 - 0 by Tawa earlier on today but in the true sense of the word it was 'a game of two halves' and the final scoreline didn't reflect how much effort was put in for the second half.  Our local hero Ralphie was in fine form today as he produced  a string of top drawer saves to deny Tawa time and again helping to keep the score from getting out of control.

The teams line up before the handshakes

Wainui made a solid start and almost took the lead after Paul Woods deflected shot almost looped in over the goalkeeper.  Tawa though played some clever football and cut through the Wainui defence on several occasions in the first half to take a well deserved 3 - 0 lead into the halftime break.

Euan Barclay beats his man

Wainui came out fighting in the second half and stifled the Tawa attack for large periods in a much improved display.  However an unlucky own goal from Neil Barclay (or was it Euan??) made it four for Tawa.  Believe me when I say it was unlucky, he got a challenge in on a Tawa players jinking run and from an acute angle inside the penalty box managed to put the ball into the roof of his own net?!?  Young Shaun McKechnie saw red late in the game and Tawa took full advantage of the man advantage to score a fifth goal.

Ralphie lines up his wall

Next week the venue shifts to the artificial park in Wellington as Wainui take on Island Bay United, it will be my first trip to the artificial park at Wakefield and it should be a good game with both teams being evenly matched in both of last seasons encounters.

Goals galore to kick start season

Wainui lost out in todays pre season opener against Western Suburbs in The Hilton Petone Cup.  Our local hero Ralph Chenery was back in goal with Stephen Quirke, who announced his retirement at the end of last season, named as a substitute.

In a fairly even opening quarter Wainui took the lead when Callum Patterson found himself through on goal and beat the keeper with a composed finish.  The lead didn't last long as Wests hit back within ten minutes as a sharply delivered cross from the left eluded Wainuis defenders leaving Wests striker to finish with an easy header.

Then a cruel blow for Wainui came in first half stoppage time when a trip occured inside the penalty area leaving the ref with no option but to award a penalty kick.  The penalty was scored and the half time whistle swiftly followed.

The boys didn't drop their heads and came out fighting for the second half.  Fifteen minutes in and a swift counter attack led to a goal from midfield talisman Paul Wood who finished with a superb side foot volley to level the scores.  Both sides battled on and you sensed that the winner could come from either side, our local hero Ralphie keeping the scores level with two great saves but their was little he could do when Wests scored their third as the tricky winger drifted in from the wing and unleashed an unstoppable shot to the top corner of the net.

It's never easy to lose a game but Wainui fought hard and surely deserved something more out of the game than they got.  Next up is a game against Central League team Tawa, could a shock result be on the cards next Sunday at Memorial Park??

Time to blow off the cobwebs

Well it has been a long time between drinks hasn't it??  Last September was the last time I got to see Wainui in some footballing action and since then there has been a lot of running for me but finally the football pre season is upon us.  Well being February and with the cricket season coming to a close the time has come for the first and second teams to blow off the cobwebs and gear up for the forthcoming Hilton Petone Cup  which begins this Sunday.

The draw, which can be found here, sees the A team pitted against Western Suburbs, Tawa, Island Bay, Stop Out and hosts Petone while the B team have been drawn alongside Waterside Karori, Upper Hutt and Kapiti Coast United.

The B team will get the ball rolling as they kick off at 2pm this Sunday against Waterside Karori.  Wainui have won the Division 2 Hilton Petone Cup Final on two previous occasions the last time back in 1996 so lets hope for a decent run this time around.

Then the A team will kick off their campaign against last seasons relegation rivals Western Suburbs at 5.30pm, maybe there will be revenge on the minds of the Wests players leading into the game but hopefully Wainui can do the business.