Chch’s positive football brought back the fans

Press, 25 September 1987, Page 20

Chch’s positive football brought back the fans

After eight years of frustration the Christchurch national league soccer team can deservedly bask in the glory of its achievements in 1987.

Its first league championship triumph since 1978 brought the fans flocking back to Queen Elizabeth II Park and the Chatham Cup double is still there for the taking. It will require a very good side to knock Christchurch from its pedestal next season.

The 58 points gained by Christchurch this season would have given it first place by a wide margin in each of the last four seasons, in which three points have been awarded for a win.

It achieved its highest number of victories in the competition, scored more goals than any other side and conceded fewer.

The only side which beat Christchurch twice was Wellington United, which led the title race over the middle part of the season. The 26-game season makes the league a test of endurance and while Wellington wilted as the pressure went on Christchurch maintained its consistency.

It gathered 32 points from a possible 39 in the second round, picking up three points from its crunch matches against Mount Wellington, North Shore and Gisborne, while Wellington dropped vital points to the sides like Napier and Manawatu.

The Christchurch coach, lan Marshall, must have been worried when the team lost three of its

GARY BIRKETT

reviews Christchurch’s successful

national soccer league campaign.

first six games but he always had supreme confidence in his players. Mr Marshall certainly has the respect of his players who would probably boycott next year’s league if the jovial Scot is not named the “Coach of the Year.” The club’s board also has good reason to supply Mr Marshall with a case of whisky.

He was the ideal man to deal with the surge of interest from the media as it became apparent that Christchurch was the team to beat

Mr Marshall prefers not to shoot from the lip and resisted the temptation to complain when things did not go Christchurch’s way, as in the case of the referee, Wally Noon’s controversial handling of the match in which Wellington beat Christchurch, 1-0.

The positive, attacking soccer employed by Christchurch was like a breath of fresh air after the dour tactics of last year’s champions, Mount Wellington. While Christchurch’s strength is founded on the back four of Paul Hillis, Gary Lund, Ceri Evans and Kevin Calder, it also has a creative midfield and a forceful attack. Hillis and Calder had excellent seasons, especially the quietly spoken Calder, while Lund and Evans are widely regarded as the best centreback pairing in the country.

Evans was a tower of strength. His cool head and ability to marshal his team-mates made him the best defender in the league and his departure to Auckland will leave a gaping hole.

The Christchurch midfield was its biggest disappointment last year but this season was perhaps its greatest strength. The captain, Keith Braithwaite, was back to his best and managed 20 goals, while Danny Halligan marched straight out of the southern league and into the All Whites. They had dream seasons and it is a mystery to Christchurch followers that Braithwaite has not been called up by the coach of the national team, Kevin Fallon. Perhaps the 30-year-old should have moved to North Shore; it seemed to work for other players. Johan Verweij, who only established a regular place on the left side of midfield half-way through the programme, was at his best in the final third of the season while Paul Nicholls, an out-and-out wing, used his searing pace and ball control to good effect on the right flank.

The twin strikers, Allan Carvi’le and John Hanson, contributed 23 goals. Carville, aged 24, is almost as fast as the racehorses he likes to follow at Addington and his ability to sniff out goals has already attracted the attention of Mr Fallon.

Hanson was the ideal target man and finished the season with a flourish, scoring seven goals in the last six games to total 11, one less than Carville.

It is hoped that next winter will not differ much from 1987. Team morale is high and the squad, apart from Evans, is likely to stay intact. With quality players like Graeme Archer and Brent Berry to call on, plus the talented youngsters that Martin Stewart has developed in the reserve side, Christchurch will be the favourite to win the league again. Of the other teams the highlight was the emergence of Gisborne in the second round and the solid showings of the new sides, Mount Manganaui, Napier and Hutt Valley United.

The Gisborne playercoach, Steve Sumner, did a good job in his first season and if he carries on in the same vein must be considered national team coach material. The rash of draws recorded by Gisborne in the first round cost the side dearly, and it did well to finish second. Barrie Truman would have been disappointed that Wellington faded late in the piece. It relied heavily on the goal-scor-ing power of Bill Harris and the loss through injury of Brent O’Neill certainly did not help. Mount Maunganui did well to finish fourth in its debut season while Napier

was the surprise packet for 20 rounds until injury wrecked its defence. The other newcomer, Hutt Valley, lost its opening four games but recovered well to finish in a respectable spot Mount Wellington, racked by internal strife, scored 56 goals but conceded 48 to finish midtable while North Shore looked “the goods” in the early games but slipped badly in the second round. It had a fine defensive record but could not pop in the goals at the other end, much to the chagrin of Mr Fallon. Nelson United lost its opening seven games but battled into eleventh place after the original coach, Barry Simmonds, was shabbily dealt with by the club. He was sacked after some players walked out of training and the former All White, Peter Simonsen, took over with reasonable success.

Dunedin City started well enough but drifted to twelfth place, a disappointing result considering the talent it has.

However, the biggest shock was the demise of Miramar, which finished last after unluckily being pipped for the title last year.

It suffered enough setbacks to fill a book including the defection of its leading player, Grant Turner, to rugby.

Miramar must now wait and see if the N.Z.F.A. invites it back next year. It will be an anxious wait for the club, which hardly deserves to be relegated to the central league after one bad season.