Central League Round Seven

FOOTBALL

City��s Central League side play their fourth away game in succession when they tackle league leaders Lower Hutt City today.

They will make it five away in succession when they travel south again the following Saturday to play Feilding in the first round of the Chatham Cup knockout.

City Seconds continue their away clash with a game against Napier Marist today.

LJ Hooker Gisborne Thistle hold the main stage today with a 2.30pm kick-off against Western Rangers of Havelock North at Childers Road Reserve.

Thistle have also drawn an away game in the cup, against Taradale.

City coach Kevin Fallon is confident his new-look side will give plenty of cheek in the cup this year. But his primary focus is on today��s challenge.

"Lower Hutt are in top form this season," he said in Gisborne for training last night. "They are strong in defence and have been scoring freely. We certainly expect this to be one of the key games of the season for us and we know we��ll have to battle hard for anything we get down there."

Fallon said there were some doubts about key players Van Lindsay (hamstring), Malcolm McCrae (ankle injury), Ash Solly (knee problem) and Joe Simpkins (ankle).

On the credit side Chilean flank player Jose Ramos was just about ready to play again after a serious shoulder injury.

"I was delighted with the contribution from Robert Gill, Lance Eeson and Jakub Sinkora in our 5-0 win over Palmerston North Marist," said Fallon. "They combined unselfishly and showed a willingness to work hard and challenge for everything that came their way.

"I��m also hoping that Simpkins is fit to play. He��s had a niggling ankle injury for some time now but he gives us a measure of defensive stability because of his strength in the tackle just in front of the back four. Scott Hales and Ryan O��Neill also did a good job for us on the flanks.

"I don��t really want to change things as we have started to work well as a unit. But you always have to be looking for slight adjustments or replacements as the injury toll can be heavy in this league.

Fallon said the defensive line of Shane Hooks, Tim Schaeffers, Van Lindsay and Josh Smith, backed up by keeper Danny Robinson, were outstanding last week but he expected them to come under a lot more pressure from Lower Hutt.

City assistant coach Pedro Garcias is still on the sidelines but is enjoying his work with the first and second teams.

"I��m particularly pleased with the youngsters who have come into the seconds," he said. "It hasn��t been easy for them. The training regime is tougher because they are working with first-team players and everything is faster.

"But young centreback Caleb Duncan was the man of the match in our 3-3 draw with Taradale last week.

"Caleb, Garrett Blair, Shane Mahy, Max Logan and David Salmon �� all local students �� have brought youthful enthusiasm and undoubted talent into the City camp."

Thistle will not find Western Rangers an easy target here today. But there is a lot of depth in the Jags this season and the goalscoring ability of Chris Spurr, allied to the class of Nicky Land and the defensive solidity provided by Richard Coomber, Warren Veall, and Steve Morrow should see them through.

They will miss the attacking talents of Craig and Kane Stirton, both sidelined for two weeks, but Daniel Venema, Kyle Gabriel, Leighton Peters and Shane Mooney are talented youngsters.

�� Thistle coach John Stirton will watch today��s Pacific Premiership game from the stand after receiving a one-day ban from Central Soccer for his involvement in an incident in last week��s match against Port Hill in Gisborne.

Thistle have also been fined $250 for the actions of Stirton and warned by Central Soccer that "any repeat of this type of incident or any other that brings our sport into disrepute will be dealt with more severely."

Central Soccer Eastern manager Phil Holt also said referee Ben Chisholm��s decision to end the game early was justified "given the heated nature of the game."

The result of the game, 1-0 to Thistle, stands "as per Central Soccer senior playing regulations."

Stirton��s sons and Thistle players Kane and Craig Stirton have each received automatic suspensions for two matches after being sent off for violent conduct in the Port Hill game.

Stop Out coach Grant Turner hopes a change of luck and the injection of new blood in the coming weeks will turn the club's Central League football season around.

Stop Out fell to their third loss on Saturday - 2-1 to Wellington United - leaving them alongside Taranaki as one of only two teams yet to register a win this year, though they have had four draws in the opening seven matches.

"At the end of the day every game we've played in, with the exception of Gisborne, we could've won but we've let ourselves down. We're working on that," said Turner, who has made a return to coaching this year after being hampered by injury.

He admits Stop Out's squad is weaker than it was in their return to the Central League last year, with experience missing in the form of players such as Andy Le Prou and Dion Bartosh. However, with some luck and the likely addition of "a few surprise players", the 1982 World Cup All White is confident of securing their fair share of wins before the season ends.

"We, like many clubs, are struggling to come to terms with the finances required to recruit players and compete with the big guns. But we're positive about it and I expect us to get much better. We've got some classy players and we're not far away."

Meanwhile, it was business as usual for leaders Western Suburbs and Miramar Rangers on Saturday, recording 5-1 home wins against Palmerston North Marist and Team Taranaki, respectively. Rupert Ryan bagged a double for Wests, while Dominic Rowe netted twice for Miramar in their win.

Also on Saturday, Lower Hutt City and Gisborne City drew 1-1, while Olympic beat Napier City Rivers 2-1 in Napier yesterday.