ASB Premiership

Otago No Lefties Left
by Rab Smith

Anticipation of playing at the Forsyth Barr Stadium nosedived into the shadows as Otago United team captain Tristan Prattley ( pic below ) was yesterday declared unfit for Sunday’s match with Waitakere United.

Otago coach Richard Murray was shocked when a scan of Prattley’s cheekbone revealed a fracture that will keep the talented defender sidelined for three weeks.

‘ Justin was attending an Olympic selection trial in Auckland, and the medics arranged a scan when they saw the black eye and bruising he sustained in the Team Wellington match,’ said coach Murray.

‘ He is a key part of our defensive unit, which would have been short anyway, since Southlander Craig Ferguson is suspended after two yellow cards also in the Wellington match.’

‘ Small things can haunt you,’ said Murray. ‘ The referee judged a skewed clearance as a passback to keeper Peter Evans, and the resultant push and shove in a crowded goalmouth earned Craig Ferguson ( pic rt ) a yellow card.’

‘ So we are without two key members of our defensive backline,’  Murray grimaced.

The race is on now to complete transfer paperwork this weekend to plug gaps in United’s squad. Keeper Osvaldo Rodriguez has been drafted in from Invercargill Old Boys to replace Callum Flaws who is no longer available.

Mosgiel striker Reagan Coldicott has also been recruited to add punch to the Otago strike force, and tall left sided defender Liam Lockhart ( pic above ) is a natural replacement for Prattley.

And coach Murray’s cup overflowed when another of Otago’s few strikers, Donnie MacGregor ( pic above )   pulled up with a hamstring strain at training, and he will require a late fitness test on Saturday.

Murray said,’ Not the preparation we wanted when you are about to face a Waitakere side that already has several tough games under its belt – including a 10-nil win in the Oceania League over Tahitian club FC Tefana.

‘ We will have to try and frustrate them ( Waitakere ) by working very hard, and closing down their passing options, while hoping to pinch a goal and unsettle them.'

The northern side’s unbeaten run over Otago United stretched to fourteen matches at the end of last season with Neil EMBLEN’s side notching 3-1 and 2-1 victories. Waitakere have five wins and two draws from their previous seven visits to Dunedin.

Waitakere coach Neil Emblen said,’My team are looking forward to playing at the new stadium and are hoping to keep our momentum going after two good wins.’

‘ Otago had a good start against Wellington and regardless of what stadium we play at in Dunedin we have never had an easy game down there.’

‘Some good talent has been recruited in the off season and there seems like a good feeling in their camp so we will have to play well to come away with the points.’

‘ I do feel though that if we can sustain our form we will be hard to stop. I’m also looking forward to meeting another young coach in Richard Murray and talking football with him on Sunday.’

It’s a big weekend for football in Dunedin apart from the senior mens game, there is also an important 1 p.m. Southern Conference ASB Youth league match on Saturday at Tahuna park against Youngheart Manawatu.

And on Sunday an early 11 am kick-off against Central, but last weekend saw the team face every emotion you could image.  A great start against the defending champs saw Mary Fraser and Shontelle Smith scored well taken goals inside the first three minutes of the game.

The Ladies stuck to the game plan of playing smart, creative football, whist pressuring Capital into mistakes and converting the opportunities created.  This was rewarded further with Shontelle Smith bagging a second goal from a great free kick by Caitlyn Bloxham, with Mary Fraser nodding on to the back post for Shontelle.

A race to the ball just before the end of the half saw Capital pull one back.  A very happy and excited team entered the changing room.  The Coach quickly reminded them that the result wasn’t safe just yet and we needed to carry on doing what we did in the first half as well as being ready for Capital who would come out firing and looking to get back into the game.

What happened next is still a mystery – Capital got their passing game together and it was them who applied the pressure and looking for the mistakes to get the goals they needed.  The ladies battled hard but wrong options, delaying on the ball, looking for the miracle ball meant we were always on the back foot against a team that was growing in confidence with each goal they got.

This weekend sees Football South home to Central, a game we are keen to target to get our first win of the season and to atone for a slow start against them last time.  As well as making amends for a second half against Capital.  The team continues to learn from its errors and I’m sure this weekend we will correct the ones from the last weekend, while improving on the previous games performances. ...........Zippy

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