‘Weird’ soccer win for United

Press, 14 May 1984, Page 3

‘Weird’ soccer win for United

DAVID LEGGAT

“It was a bit weird wasn’t it?” That was the view of Christchurch Brother United’s coach, Laurie Blyth, after a staggering four penalties had been awarded in , yesterday’s Rothmans Soccer League match against McKee Nelson United, at Queen Elizabeth II Park.

Certainly it was not an unusual match. The penalties awarded by the referee, Arthur Edwards, were evenly shared between the teams. Indeed, it was only those two penalties which kept an uninspired Nelson in the match, and United was well worth its 5-2 win.

Mr Edwards has a reputation for dishing out a heavy dose of penalties, but yesterday he was perfectly positioned to assess the infringements. The crowd might not have been impressed, but Mr Blyth had “no complaints. There was no question about them.”

Nelson began the match without its player-coach, Phil Dando, in goal. His absence through injury did not help and one felt he would certainly have stopped one of United’s goals. It was also without its two suspended attackers, Ken Drakeford and Charlie Juffs, and its captain, Paul McLean.

Paul Brydon looked a useful striker but Mark Smith was well patrolled by Ceri Evans. United’s goal-keeper,

Steve Baker, had little of consequence to do, apart from face two spot kicks, but did get out quickly to smother a through ball in the second half, which cost him a solid thump on the leg.

However, the penalties and the weak opposition should not cloud an impressive United performance. Keith Braithwaite’s enterprise and vision in the midfield were rewarded with a hat-trick; Allan Boath’s two goals were backed up by some excellent runs off the ball, while Andy Harrison’s touches and quick thinking indicated he will have a productive season.

However, the best display came from the little striker, Brent Berry. He buzzed persistently around the Nelson back four, always made himself available for a through ball, and worked himself into space intelligently. Boath opened the scoring in the sixth minute, when Berry’s cross from the right caught a defender in two minds and the New Zealand capthin was on hand to turn the ball beyond Nelson’s goal-keeper, John Brydon.

Another Brydon, Paul, equalised eight minutes later when Boath was penalised for holding an opponent back. United regained the lead in the twenty-second minute, capping off a spell of solid pressure. The Nelson full-back, Terry Brunell, kicked a Berry shot off the

goal-line, before Boath drove the ball strongly into the top corner from 20 metres.

Nelson’s . solitary clear first half chance was wasted by Darren Cunningham, who volleyed well wide from a handy position. John Brydon pulled off a good save from a well struck Boath drive early in the second half, but at the other end a minute later, Nelson caught up with United for the second time. Evans was penalised for pushing Paul Wilkinson, the man he succeeded this season, in the heart of United’s defence. Paul Brydon’s spot kick was well saved by Baker, but Brydon thumped the rebound into the net. United bounced back to move ahead, 3-2, when Mr Edwards penalised a Nelson defender for handled ball. Braithwaite made no mistake from the spot. In the sixty-third minute, the third penalty in a crazy 10 minutes was awarded when Steve Wooddin was brought down by the third Brydon, David. Mr Edwards, pointed to the spot for the fourth time, and Braithwaite scored again.

The dark-haired midfielder capped off a memorable game, soon after when he won the ball in the middle of the pitch, made ground, and let fly with a left foot drive from 30 metres. John Brydon grasped the ball, but let it slip through his fingers and bounce over the line.