Chch poised to win league title

Press, 7 October 1988, Page 40

Chch poised to win league title

Special correspondent

The Christchurch soccer coach, lan Marshall, allowed himself a broad smile three minutes from the end of his team’s Air New Zealand national soccer league match against Wellington United at Newtown Park last evening as he watched a superb 30-metre drive from John Hanson bulge the back of the Wellington net

Hanson’s super strike, which gave the goalkeeper, Don Finlayson, no chance, put Christchurch to a 4-1 advantage and when the final whistle went Mr Marshall punched the air with both hands. Before kickoff and during the match, when he paced up and down in front of the grandstand, Mr Marshall had been a bag of nerves. He knew this was the all important game as his team chased successive league titles. Three points from this one and just one point would be needed from the last fixture with Gisborne on Sunday. Mr Marshall would have been too aware that Wellington had proved the bogey side for his team over the years. He need not have worried. Christchurch turned on a pedigree performance as it overcame a Wellington side that played well. Both sides had their chances but there was always the feeling that it would be Christchurch which would win. The South Islanders were the more disciplined, the better organised and they had the players who looked likely to break open the game. In Hanson and Paul Nicholls Christchurch had devastating finishers and the pair picked up two goals each with Hanson’s last effort being one of the goals of the season. As Mr Marshall shook each player’s hand in turn

as they made their way back to the dressing room he was already bringing himself back to earth. "I can start worrying again now about Sunday’s match,” he said. Asked if he now accepted that Christchurch was firm favourite for the title, the genial Scot shook his head. “I’ve been around too long for that. Every three points are tough to pick up.” As Mr Marshall spoke his players left no doubt about their feelings on the matter as they burst into a rendition of “we’re going to win the league.” The exuberance was natural but like the professional side it is, Christchurch will have its feet firmly back on the ground by the next, and final game. Mr Marshall said he would have no difficulty in getting his players up for the clash against Gisborne because it was just another game that had to be won. It was end to end stuff from the opening whistle last evening. Within 90 seconds Nicholls had miscued a shot at goal, w’hile at the other end Greg Fleming had headed just wide. In the fifth minute Hanson played the ball behind the Wellington defence for Nicholls and from the moment the blond-haired striker latched on to it he was never going to miss. If Christchurch thought they were going to win in

a canter, Wellington had other ideas. First Alan Stroud had to save well from a Steve O’Donoghue free kick and then Wellington equalised. O’Donoghue put a free kick toward the far post where Malcolm Dunford headed the ball back across the penalty area for Andy Van den Ende to lash through a crowd of players and into the net. The half-time score of 1-1 was a fair reflection on the game but once Christchurch went ahead 14 minutes into the second spell the writing was on the wall for the home side. Paul Hillis played a long ball forward, Danny Halligan produced a delicate header to put Alan Carville into the penalty area and Nicholls finished the move after Carville had rounded the goalkeeper and slipped the ball across the face of goal. Wellington was still in with a chance then but when Hanson was put away by Mike Fullen in the seventy-fifth minute they were killed off. Hanson, who looked off-side when the ball was played, raced away to score despite the goalkeeper getting a hand to the ball. If there was an element of doubt about that one there was nothing wrong with the final goal. Hanson struck the ball perfectly and from the moment it left his foot it was always going to find the net.