Fairytale ending for Chch United

Press, 4 October 1982, Page 32

Fairytale ending for Chch United

The Christchurch United reserves brought their first season of Hertz regional league soccer to a fairytale end bv beating Shamrock. 21. in the replay English Cup final at English Park on Saturday.

An excellent goal in the last minute of extra time deprived Shamrock of what would have been a share 'of the knock-out trophy. Instead of sharing, however. the Shamrock players had to watch glumly as Mike Poole, the striker who rammed home the winning goal from the edge of the penalty area, ran gleefully into the arms of his coach. Terrv Mann.

It'was an emotional day for Poole. The 20-year-old front man thought he had sealed the match in the eighty-ninth minute with a

cracking 30m drive to the back of the net. but that effort was ruled offside.

Poole's goal in the twentieth minute of extra time had capped off a surprising turnabout in the flow of the game, forced after the sides had drawn 1-1 in their first Cup encounter on Wednesday.

Shamrock looked to have the trophy cupboard locked up from the time John van Opzeeland scored the opening goal in the thirteenth minute until well into the second half.

The more experienced Jimmy Rea-coached lineup seemed to be coping better with the drizzle and slippery pitch, passing more accurately and keeping play confined to the United half for long periods. United had only one halfchance at scoring in the first half and was making little impact after the break when' the referee. Mr John Dykhoff, awarded it a penalty in the seventy-second minute.

Mr Dykhoff ruled that Shamrock's goalkeeper, Neil Caswell, had interfered with the progress of a United forward. Stuart McKissock. at the edge of the area. McKissock. had worked his way into a one-on-one situation after latching on to a

long pass from a defender. Simon Miilichip. and racing past the,Shamrock defence up the left flank. But the penalty must have been a borderline decision, for Caswell seemed to be making a legitimate challenge for the ball at McKissock's feet.

In any case. Millichip wasted little time in slotting home the kick from the spot. From that point United, its hopes of victory rekindled, picked up its tempo and began to go forward with more confidence. The Shamrock defence felt the pressure and became a little tentative. A back pass from Mike Howard in the seventy-seventh minute almost became an own goal when Caswell went the wrong way for it. Fortunately for Shamrock, a defender was on hand to bundle the ball to safety. The extra-time battle was even, with Howard forcing a diving save from United's goalkeeper. Trevor Cliff, with five minutes remaining, and Scott Sinclair heading narrowly over the top of the bar for United soon after..

But it was a searing midfield run by the 30-year-old Ellis, which culminated in a neat square pass to Poole in front of the goal, that proved the deciding move.