ASB National League
Dunedin, 2011-12
Otago Action
Otago v Waikato the One that Got Away...
Rab Smith
Hurdler Ryder
Waikato earned a 2-nil win over Otago United with quality passing skills, and commendable composure for a young team.
The perfect playing surface at Forsyth Barr stadium helped both sides technique, and coach Declan Edge’s team, composed mainly from his U19 Academy players, admirably stuck to their task against an Otago side that initially allowed little space.
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Not that the passing was perfect, but if a Waikato move broke down, coach Edge’s unique call to his team of ‘Shiver’ had support players pressing hard to immediately win the ball back.
Waikato’s ambitions to pass like Barcelona have been well documented, but equally effective is the fact that Edge has encouraged players to swarm in support, and get bodies forward as much as possible.
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The answer to swarms however is to ‘switch’ play, and Otago did this to a reasonable extent early in the match, creating space for attacking runs – and Otago actually dominated the first half.
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Declan makes a point ...
But the home side’s shooting was poor. Sam Mepham went closest when he cracked a shot against Waikato’s goalpost, and Ryders header was not far away, but even reliables like Darren Overton butchered a clear chance to score, and shots from Harley Rodeka, Regan Coldicott, Donnie MacGregor, and later James Govan went progressively further awry.
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Possibly the absence of striker Ant Hancock due to a calf strain in the pre-match warm-up did not help Otago’s finishing power.
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Waikato’s best spell was early in the second half, when criss cross running and passing created sustained spells of pressure.
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But both side’s final pass was poor, with both keepers redundant for long spells, and the match looked destined to be an elaborate non-scoring spectacle.
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Waikato’s month off may have left more gas in the tank, and it was a late flourish that produced freekicks and couple of corners, then they hit the jackpot with eight minutes left to play.
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A solo Waikato supporter... applauds the first goal
Tired Otago defending failed to clear a left wing cross after keeper Peter Evans had blocked a shot from Adam Thomas, and in the resultant melee, Mohammed Awad darted in to score from close range.
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Otago responded but an awful backpass set up Jason Hicks to intercept and he kept his cool to beat keeper Evans in the 85th minute, and wrap up the 2-nil result for Waikato
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Coach Edge was happy with his team’s performance. ‘ We deserved the win, against an Otago side that worked its socks off,’ he said.
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thin blue line held firm at close range Freekick
All products of the free Football Academy that Edge runs fulltime, the Waikato side’s daily training showed out in the final quarter. ‘ We believe in the 10,000 hours target to achieve professional level skills. Those lads have clocked up 4000 hours, and are on track,’ he said.
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For a clearly disappointed Otago coach Murray it was a case of not taking the early goalscoring chances, and since Overton is off to Oz, and Hancock injured, possibly there will be another team reshuffle before playing Wellington next Sunday at the Caledonian ground.
| Auckland | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 4 | 19 | 18 |
| Waitakere | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 9 | 15 | 15 |
| Wellington | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 12* |
| Canterbury | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 12 |
| Otago Utd | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 15 | -9 | 9* |
| Waikato FC | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 18 | -11 | 6 |
| H. Bay | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 13 | -6 | 4 |
| Manawatu | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 26 | -19 | 1 |
Kiwitea Street, Sandringham
Auckland City 3 (Daniel Koprivcic 17’, Manel Exposito 60’, Emiliano Tade 88’)
Canterbury United 0
Halftime: 1-0.
*Luis Corrales (Auckland City) and Cole Peverley (Canterbury United) sent off on 77 minutes.
At Bluewater Stadium, Napier
Hawke’s Bay United 2 (Sam Margetts 12’, 38’)
Team Wellington 6 (Louis Fenton 5’, 19’, 59’, 89’, Dakota Lucas 55’, Ethan Galbraith 90’+1)
Halftime: 2-2.
At Memorial Park, Palmerston North
YoungHeart Manawatu 2 (Suele Soromon 28’, Jimmy Haidakis 74’)
Waitakere United 7 (Allan Pearce 15’, 61’-pen, Roy Krishna 25’, Sean Lovemore 37’, 47’, 66’, Jake Butler 70’)
Halftime: 1-3.
Ball Kids prepare for Waikato match ..
