ASB National League
Dunedin, 2011-12

Swansong for Cunningham and Connor
Rab Smith

Another watershed moment arrives for Otago United as it prepares to face the old rival Canterbury, at 2 pm on Sunday at the Forsyth Barr stadium.
( tickets from www.ticketdirect.co.nz )

The shallow Otago playing squad is set to shrink further as star midfielder Mike Cunningham ( pic right )and versatile defender Tom Connor ( below ) prepare to head for Melbourne in the new year.

Both will be keen to make a lasting impression in their last ASB Premiership match, but their intended exit will be hard for caretaker coach Andy Duncan to accommodate, as well as regular coach Richard Murray on his return from a youth tournament in Singapore.

Duncan said,’ Both players have contributed greatly to our bright
opening to the season and I hope Sunday’s result serves as a fitting send off to those outstanding players.

‘ Both are heading to Melbourne to play and although it is sad to see them leave, they do so with our best wishes as their ambitions met with the franchise’s main objective – Southern based players operating at the highest level.’

‘It is the reason that both Richard and I took on the role of coaching, to make sure local players have a stage on which to excel.’

So exit stage right, one talented pair, and in the wings does Otago have quality replacements to take over those important positions ?

Several players have stepped up so far this season. Central defender Matt Joy won last weeks Man of the Match award, and the likes of Harley Rodeka, Morgan Day, Regan Coldicott, Sam Mepham, James Govan, Matt Brook and Joel Stevens are all capable of making the step up.

But Cunningham and Connor will be on deck on Sunday, and relish the chance to overtake Keith Braithwaites Canterbury which is presently two points ahead after four matches.

Recently returned from Olympic Squad trials are defender Tristan Prattley plus creative midfielder Darren Overton, and clearly they are both important players for Otago.

Young striker And Hancock is due a slice of luck to complement his hard running and tackling game. He could be partnered at some stage by Canadian Donny McGregor who has had a frustrating wait for match play due to recurring hamstring problems.

Historically, both teams have won four games each in the last eight matches, with no draws. Both teams have also inflicted five goal defeats in recent years,  so there are likely to be no holds barred on Sunday.

For Canterbury, Dan Terris makes his long awaited ASB Premiership return from injury after appearing as a sub in last week’s White Ribbon Cup loss.

Adam Highfield is back in goal after missing the cup fixture and Joe Murray is also back after a fortnight’s break.
 
Sam Miles, Russell Kamo and  Murray were all on target for Canterbury as they romped home to a 3-1 win over Otago the last time these two sides met.

But possibly the biggest danger to Otago will be the new red and black import George Slefendorfas, who presently leads the ASB top goalscorers.

Otago squad list: 1-oswaldo rodriguez (gk), 3-tristan prattley (c), 5-matt joy, 6-morgan day, 7-regan coldicott, 9-donnie mcgregor 10-ant hancock, 11-james govan, 14-sam mepham, 15-darren overton, 18-harley rodeka,20-matt brook (a),  21-michael cunningham, 22-peter evans (gk), 23-joel stevens (a), 25-craig ferguson, 27-tom connor.

Canterbury squad list: 2-dan terris, 3-mark johnston, 4-nick wortelboer, 5-tom schwarz, 7-darren white, 8-aaron clapham, 9-george slefendorfas, 10-russell kamo, 12-andy barton, 15-julyan collett, 16-joe murray, 17-cole peverley, 19-calvin opperman, 20-ken yamamoto, 22-adam highfield (gk), 24-jeremy wild.

ASB	P	W	D	L	For	Ag	GD	Pts
Auckland	4	4	0	0	17	4	13	12
Waitakere	4	3	0	1	14	4	10	9
Canterbury	4	3	0	1	10	3	7	9
Otago Utd.	4	2	1	1	7	10	-3	7
Wellington	4	1	1	2	7	7	0	4
H. Bay	4	1	1	2	5	7	-2	4
Manawatu	4	0	1	3	4	14	-10	1
Waikato	4	0	0	4	2	17	-15	0