Crucial match for Woolston

Press, 17 July 1981, Page 20

Crucial match for Woolston

Woolston W.M.C., fighting for Rothmans Soccer League survival, must beat Christchurch Mogal United at Queen Elizabeth II Park on Sunday to retain its hopes of keeping its place in the competition. Woolston’s prospects have not been helped by a remarkable resurgence from another struggling team, Hamilton. The northern club has taken seven points from a possible eight in its last four matches, to edge four points clear of Woolslon and Takapuna City. National Mutual Miramar, another team which looked a rosy prospect for relegation, has" chipped away successfully to pick up eight points in its last seven games. Woolston’s joint coaches. Trevor Reece and Kevin Mulgrew, have found it difficult instilling a killer instinct in their players, and consequently matches which should have been won. have not.

In addition, the two frontrunners, Mike Poole and Graham Dacombe, have tended to become isolated from their mid-field support. More work on getting midfielders forward into attacking positions quicker will be required. An unchanged Woolston team is likely for its crunch

game, with Robbie Larter still suffering from a hamstring injury. Woolston will need four wins from its remaining four matches to be reasonably confident of holding its place. 1 But United will not make it easy for Woolston, and will be boosted by the likely return of the experienced lain Marshall from injury. The match has an importance of a different sort for United. Now that it has reached the points target of its coach, Terry Corley, it can look at a place in the prize money. It will need to play well, and consistently, but the task is hot beyond it.

All in all, a local derby full of interest is in prospect. While Rangers are-certain of relegation at the end of the season; they still have their part to play in the competition. Their four remaining matches include two against the title challenger, Gisborne City, one against Christchurch United and on Sunday they meet another championship contender, Dunedin City, in Dunedin. The other four matches scheduled for Sunday are Gisborne City v. Manurewa, National Mutual Miramar v. Hanimex-North Shore, Mount Wellington v. Hamilton and Takapuna City v. Wellington Diamond United.