Big week-end for Christchurch soccer

Press, 29 March 1980, Page 60

Big week-end for Christchurch soccer

By

DAVID LEGGAT

Although the 1980 competition'is only two weekends old, the third round o matches in the Rothman; Soccer League is shaping uj as being among the mosi crucial of the year for botf Christchurch teams, Rangers and Trans Tours United. Indeed, for both teams tomorrow could provide a pointer to prospects, not all of them relating to what happens on the field, for the rest of the season. No match in the league sxcites more interest than

| United against Mount Wellington. The teams have met .'2O times in the league, the : Mount having won 10 and ] United seven. But irrespective of the teams’ placings jon the points table when 'they meet, there always I seems an extra urgency .and j determination among the i players. i the match will also be eagerly awaited by United’s ; (officials. No other team can; I approach the Mount as a drawcard, and if the game i fails to draw a healthy

i crowd with virtually noi i competition from .other win-J 'ter sporting codes, attend-!

ance prospects for the remainder of the season will take a particularly bleak :urn. The Mount has lost the services' of its international midfield player, Bill de Sraaf, who ha? - transferred to Hanimex United: How,-

ever, nine of its 14-man squad are internationals, compared with four full

international in United’s team. But United’s manager (Mr Brian Hardman) has been able to retain the same team for the third successive league match, a sharp contrast to last year when several early season injuries

prevented him from , fielding his top team until well into the competition . ' . ; - Rangers have one of the .most testing assignments in the competition, playing Gisborne City! at Gisborne. The Rangers coach (Mr lan Marshall) will field the same team which beat Stop Out last week-end. He said that that win had done his players “the world of good.” He is aware that Gisborne has a formidable reputation when playing before its own vocal, and parochial, supporters, tag added that hie team

is “really looking forward to the match.”

If Rangers can prevent Gisborne stretching its winning record in the league this season, they will have gone a long way towards silencing any critics who doubt their worthiness for a place in the league. The remaining matches tomorrow are Blockhouse Bay v. Newmans Nelson United at- Auckland, Dunedin City v. Hamilton at Dunedin,, Stop Out v. Wellington Diamond -United and Manurewa Vi Hanimex United.