NATIONAL LEAGUE SOCCER United loses again, 5th in succession

Press, 9 August 1976, Page 18

NATIONAL LEAGUE SOCCER United loses again, 5th in succession

Special correspondent Auckland Trans Tours run of losses continued in Auckland yesterday when North Shore United beat the side, 1-0, in a Rothmans national soccer league clash at Newmarket Park, Auckland. United, especially in the opening minutes of the second spell,! looked set to tear the Auckland side apart and score its first, league win in many weeks, but Shore scored a breakaway goal against the run of play in the fifty-ninth minute and. with its confidence restored somewhat,: held out for the next few minutes and eventually worked its way back into the game. On chances created. United ; was miles ahead but its strikers, Kevin Mulgrew. Norman Moran, and Mark McNaughton, could not convert them into goals and that, in a nutshell, was the story of the game. Twice in the second half! United hit the post with shots! that looked all but in and, with its luck running hot. Shore became more settled at the back and, although looking more than a trifle flustered at times, managed to snuff out the United raids and keep its goal intact. The three early chances — two headers from McNaughton and a well-hit 30m drive by Bill Arney towards the top left hand corner — that United created gave it much confidence and when Mulgrew set up Kees Doornenbal a few minutes later for yet another header, it looked as though the southerners were going to score the proverbial.

I hatful, especiallv as Shore, in, the first half, had only three , scoring chances and two of these were somewhat hopeful longrange efforts which failed to find their mark. .... If there could, in that first spell at least, be any real criticism of United’s attacking plan ! it was its reluctance quickly to turn chances into shots. Twice , — once from Doornenbal and later from McNaughton, from a good lan Park cross — chances went begging when the player was too slow in shooting and I the cover defence was able to get back and clear. So, after a scoreless first half, ■it was after the interval that the real action had to come. With the wind at its back. United opened as though it had not played 45 minutes on the holding, and in places, ankledeep mud. With the defence well beaten i in the opening seconds of the ! spell, Mulgrew broke through but was wide with his shot. then, in pretty quick succession. Moran. McNaughton. and Doornenbal had chances but: failed to break the Shore defence. Then almost immediately, the boot was on the other foot. John Warrington, in the Shore midfield, slipped a pass to the hard-running Dave Sneddon, w ho determinedly fought his way upfield, drew, and beat a couple of defenders, and then whacked a shot in which the United goalkeeper, David Turner, could only spill to the feet of a Shore I striker, Kerry Hales, whoii

pounded it home on the run. United still failed to sccept defeat and again mounted ( number of attacks but Shore, obviously with their tails in the atr. stuck to its task, accepted the luck which had gone its way. and kept at it. Eventually United was committed to pushing more and more players up into attack and Shore was hard-pressed for a time to contain the raids mounted through Steve Sumner, Ames. Doornenbal. and Mulgrew. While Sneddon deservedly took the man-of-the-matcli award, there was much credit in the play of some of the Milting side. Graham Griffiths came through a pretty busy day with many admirers, Ames, In his first game for eight weeks, improved as the game went on and again showed he has lew peers with long-range shots. He will no doubt continue to get better In coming weeks and again become a valuable asset to the side. Turner, in goal, did well enough but often put hie side under unnecessary pressure with fairly weak clearances. McNaughton ran well up front but failed to take advantage of the many chances he had Moran’s chances were few and far between but he atilt played well and gave the Shore captain and centre-half. Jim Smith, s torrid time — especially In tlw air. For United there can only b< the consolation that the rur of bad luck must end soon.