Manawatu rap against tough opponent

Press, 28 May 1988, Page 88

Manawatu rap against tough opponent

By

GARY BIRKETT

The former West Ham and England striker, Tommy Taylor, faced plenty of pressure in his playing days but he will be a nervous figure on the bench when his Manawatu United side faces Christchurch in a ninth round Air New Zealand national league soccer match at Queen Elizabeth II Park tomorrow.

Mr Taylor, who took over the coaching reins at Manawatu this year after a year long stint with Waikato United, made 600 appearances in the English football league and won 35 England caps at various levels. His side has made a poor start to the season — it lies in twelfth place with just five points from eight games — and last Sunday had its leading scorer, Jack Winter, sent off, and a defender, John Lynch, carried off with a broken leg.

Against a Christchurch side which has scored 13 goals in its last two home games, including an 8-0 drubbing of Miramar last Sunday, it is unlikely Mr Taylor will have a happy introduction to southern football.

Christchurch will set a league record of 21 games without defeat should it draw with or beat Manawatu and the coach, lan Marshall, is hoping for a big crowd to help celebrate that milestone. Christchurch, which is in second place, two points behind Mount Wellington, could take the league lead if it downs Manawatu, as Mount Wellington faces a tough away game against the third placed side, Mount Maunganui. Mr Marshall rejected suggestions that the league is developing into a two horse race between Christchurch and its long time rival, Mount Wellington.

"That is rubbish. There are half a dozen teams which could come through.” He included such sides as Papatoetoe, Wellington United, Napier and Mount Maunganui in his list of potential winners, saying the season was not even one third over.

The Christchurch camp had some good news about its injured striker, Allan Carville, during the week. The knee injury he is hampered by does not require an operation but

he will still be out for at least two weeks while he gets treatment. Other games in the ninth round are. — Mount Maunganui v. Mount Wellington; Napier v. Gisborne; Nelson v. Wellington; North Shore v. Hutt Valley; Papatoetoe v. Waikato; Miramar v. Manurewa.

In |the southern league today Burndale United and Mosgiel meet in the feature match at English Park at 1 p.m. Both are still in contention for the league title although a loss for Burndale, which is six points behind the leader, Christchurch, will severely dent its title hopes. At Western Park the home side should have little trouble beating Oamaru, which scored its first win of the season last Saturday over South Canterbury, 1-0. In other games Technical faces a big test when it travels to face Dunedin City, Rangers has a chance to climb off the bottom of the table when it meets Caversham away and Christchurch will be a warm favourite to beat South Canterbury at Timaru and so preserve its unbeaten record.