Nelson has fine soccer victory over T.T.U.

Press, 14 August 1978, Page 21

Nelson has fine soccer victory over T.T.U.

f Soccer ”

By

DAVID LEGGAT

Nelson United will attempt to ill retain the Adidas Challenge hl Trophy it won last year after ■ deservedly winning an all South i-i Island semi-final, 3-1. over Trans . Tours United at Queen Elizabeth 111 Park on Saturday. e* One of the most interesting V aspects of the match was that it I,; brought out clearly, for all those [), who had not already noticed it, 1 United’s great single failing in recent seasons—an inability to ,i capitalise on scoring chances. r j On the simple statistic of , : chances created but not taken. L - United would have won the s match by a margin of about two goals. However, absolute!} nothing • could be taken away from the e ‘ youthful Nelson side which over- • came the psychological barrier of e playing United in Christchurch i to cling tenaciously to a 3-1 • lead for the final 20 minutes. Indeeed it did more than hold '. on It continued to take the - game to United and if it displays the same bustling, ener-

getic enthusiasm in the final it must have an outstanding chance of success. The contrast in playing styles was apparent. United preferred the methodical build up, which has become the cornerstone of its game. Nelson broke quickly from defence using fast raiding forwards to harrass the United defence into error. Of the four goals scored, three had an individual flavour about them. The first Nelson goal, scored after 21 minutes, brought home to United, if it needed any reminding, that it would have a most difficult task if it was to reach the final. Roger Fitzgerald, the promising young centre half, who gave a solid display, stabbed the ball) into the goal after a left wing: corner. Before United equalised three minutes from the end of the first half, three good scoring opportunities came to nothing, for various reasons. lan Park, at the far post, had a free header which he ballooned over the cross bar; he appeared to be brought down in the penalty area, but no penalty was given; Frank McKay, who did not have a particularly good day, back-headed the ball from the

I near post only to see it run s along the goal-line and eventually cleared. 5 When it did come, United’s 1 equalising goal was a good one. i McKay pushed the ball down the C left flank for Kevin Mulgrew. 1 Fitzgerald was deceived by the { ball’s speed, leaving Mulgrew I clear. lie raced into the penalty area and shot superbly into the , bottom corner. [ Mulgrew was replaced at halftime by Mark McNaughton, who ’ had a fairly quiet game. Nelson ; regained the lead, and the initit ative, five minutes into the sec- ( ond half. Ron Kolk one of his team's , best players, took a long range [ drive which the United goali keeper, Steve Gryszka, got his t i hands to but failed to hold. The setting sun might well have . played a major part in the goal, » as Gryszka was looking straight ’ into it. Soon after Kees Doornenbal shot the ball over the bar from I 12 metres. Of the United midt field trio, he was probaably the I least effective, something which . has not happened this season. . one of his best to date. lan Marshall was sound and 1 efficient, while Steve Sumner w as »' involved even more than he usually is. 1 Trailing by one goal United, although not playing particularly well, was still verv much in the match. It was never a one-sided encounter; the team that took its chances won the i game. I With 20 minutes remaining ;Kolk maue himself the toast of | the small but extremely loyal group of Nelson supporters with a tremendous goal which, as it

turned out, wrapped up the match.

He took the ball down the left wing, crossed it, picked it up again when it ran loose, sprinted along the edge of the penalty area and his fine shot on the run bounced in off the cross-bar.

It almost added a fourth soon after when Ken Cressweirs strong low cross was just out of the reach of Alex Smith's lunging foot. Smith showed several nice touches, while Owen Nuttridge, another former Christchurch player, gave a supremely safe performance in the Nelson goal.

He fumbled nothing, not even; Doornenbal’s fierce drive from 30 metres. United’s final chance came three minutes from the end when McKay pushed the ball square in the Nelson penalty area but Sumner and McNaughton allowed it to run across the open space in front of them. United's best player was again Bobby Almond, who has yet to have a really bad day while I Trevor Reece was reliable at i right back. But the day belonged to Nelson. Keith Mackay, Peter Simonsen and the sweeper, John Slotemaker, got through a tremendous amount of work and stood out in a fine team performance.