Defeat would spell disaster

Press, 12 September 1986, Page 36

Defeat would spell disaster

DAVID LEGGAT

By

Having had its cherished ambition of reaching a Chatham Cup final dashed, Christchurch Brother United must pick itself up again to keep its Rothmans Soccer League aspirations,alive when it meets one of its title rivals, Masport Mount Wellington, in Auckland on Sunday.

Defeat for either side would be disastrous, although it would not necessarily spell the end of its championship prospects. The two longest-surviving league clubs lie two pointe behind the leader, National Mutual Miramar, with three rounds remaining.

Mental adjustment could count as much as physical commitment for United on Sunday. All thoughts of a Cup-league double ended at Njount

Maunganui last Sunday, and the United coach, lan Marshall, said it was a sobering experience for his players. * "In all my years in soccer, I’ve never seen players so down after the semi-final. It was a shattering experience for them.”

Suggestions that the Cup defeat — its fourth in the last five years — meant United could concentrate exclusively on the league, cut no ice with Mr Marshall. “If we’d been,in the final, the players could have really enjoyed these last three league games. The final would have been a bonus." Now, he must retune the players’ thoughts to the league. Mr Marshall is confident the team can get a result in Auckland which could set it up for a potential championship

deciding match in the last round, away to Miramar. “I’m absolutely sure they won’t be going up to Auckland with their heads down,” he said. Mount Wellington, the country’s most successful national league club, has suffered only one defeat in its last 15 matches. However, it has rarely looked a potential champion and is beset with personality problems, with the coach, Jacques Vercauteren, almost certainly leaving at the end of the season, regardless of the club’s ultimate fortunes. In other matches on Sunday, DB Wellington will meet McKee Nelson United, Hanimex-North Shore will entertain Miramar, NZ Permanent Gisborne will face Landbase Papatoetoe, Majic Carpet Manurewa will play Child Freighters

United, while Wickliffe Press Dunedin City Oi play University Cowan,, The University side ipight be short on motivation — its coach, Dennis Tindall, has been banned from the game for one year, after incidents at the end of a league match in Wellington three weeks ago. Andas Halswell United will be looking to reverse its first leg result when it meets Caversham, of Dunedin, in the second half of the Hertz League championship play-off at Halswell Domain tomorrow. ' ? Despite scoring first, Halswell went down, 1-2, in Dunedin last Saturday. That result, combined with Otago’s 4-2 beating of Canterbury on Sunday, should help silence those who regard soccer south of Christchurch as dead. Halswell showed viftere

its priorities lay by dev faulting its southern knockout semifinal against Woolston W.M.C. last evening. For &the Canterbury Football Association to . expect • Halswell to take part in a relatively meaningless game two days before its most important match of the winter was little short of naive, Classique Technical will play in its second successive English Cup final at Queen Elizabeth II Park on Sunday. It will meet New Brighton, which, despite having its coach, Terry Conley, and three players involved in the Canterbury team at the under-19 southern region tournament in Dunedin this week-end, has decided to play the final rather than default it, as was contemplated earlier this week.