Soccer final to Rangers

Press, 6 March 1978, Page 30

Soccer final to Rangers

Two squandered scoring chances late in the second half cost Woolston Working Men’s Club dearly if. the area final of the Air New Zealand soccer tournament at Queen Elizabeth II Park yesterday. When the opportunities! were missed the score was! 1-1 and Rangers went on to win the final on penalties after 30min of extra time. Michael Fulham, the) Rangers goal-keeper, turned! the second of Woolston’sl five alloted penalties around the right goal post. Rikki Koster, who took the kick, made it obvious where it was going and Fulham anticipated correctly. Rangers scored from its first four penalties, Rob Camphens, Malcolm Parker, John Souter, and Luke Camphens ail netting safely. ; Rangers won when Graham Dacombe fired Wool-! ston’s fifth shot high over) the goal, almost as if to ob-| lige a Rangers supporter! who called out. “Over the! top. Dacie,” as Dacombei

> walked up to take the pen-, i airy. ; Throughout ordinary time,; i Woolston looked the team L most likely to win. It had a [! higher level of individual, : skill and its passing was) more crisp and precise. ; It was one of those well s' placed passes which gave >; Woolston the first goal after) >! 28min. Neil Francis deftly) j steered a bouncing ball to! q Robbie Larter on the left 1! flank who cut infield, wrong-) >) footed his marker, and from) 1 the corner of the penalty) i area scored with a low shot! , just inside the right-hand! : post. The goal added life to! Woolston and it made sev-| ; eral attacks w’hich died just) > outside the penalty area.) , It was Rangers who) 5i had the next scoring) j chance. A free kick was lob-i •i bed into the goal area and ■! the ball came loose to the •| feet of Steve Welford but, •I his shot flew over the cross! '! bar. v Rangers dominated the; final lOmin of the first half;

but could not breach some; stoic defence by Brian Hen- ; dry, Drew Reid, and Fred . Simpson. After 57min, Trevor Blake . equalised with a well placed header that just crept inside the left-hand post past the , groping hand of Neville Petrie. Two minutes later, Blake ) forced a hurried save by ; Petrie with a hard shot from ' 20m. Woolston composed itself and began to use its flanks i where it had made most ad- ; vancement in the first half, i Its tactic almost paid off. A cross from Larter was curving away from the goal and McGaffin, with an athletic dive away from the goal, somehow got his head to the ball, flicked it back, and saw it strike the crossbar, rebound into play, and be | cleared. Ten minutes later, Francis sent a low cross over the goal-mouth. The ball deflected to Dacombe in front of the goal but his right foot shot slid wide of) I the goal.' I

i A third chance was lost when Colin Chisolm, racing I in on another Francis cross,| • headed wide of the goal. I 1 Woolston, younger and perhaps lacking the stamina of the older Rangers team, faltered in extra time and three times in the first 15min Rangers came close to scoring. Each time Petrie had to save. s Desperation crept into the play in the final 15min and it led to John Souter (Rangers) having his name taken. A high pass was dropping behind him into empty space, with McGaffin running onto the ball. Souter, in a reflex action reached up and halted the pass.