Chatham Cup Round Two - Central Region Roundup

Defending Chatham Cup holders Western Suburbs took on Waterside Karori at Endeavour Park on Saturday looking to kick-start their 2007 cup run.  Wharfies began the game strongly, the opening 20 minutes played at a high tempo with play see-sawing from end to end.  Wharfies forced some early corners which were dealt with well by the tall Wests defense.  Darren Cheriton was controlling the play nicely for Wests from a deep lying midfield role with some fine switches in play.  The Wharfies strike force of Mike Greene and Jimmy Hill were a threat with their pace, and after one too many fouls Wharfies had a free kick just outside the penalty area.  Phil Imray in the Wests goal watched as Jimmy Hill�s mis-hit shot drifted wide.  However, the visitors soon went ahead from a corner.  Darren Johnson competed well after the ball bobbled in the penalty box and Mike Greene was first to the loose ball and slotted the opening goal.  Stung into action Wests came back strongly and on 32 minutes a cross from the right was met by Adam Birch after a great run, who from 2 meters levelled the scores at 1-1 with a fine header.  Five minutes later and again, the pace of the Wests right flank saw a deep cross from the by line pulled back and Rupert Ryan acrobatically scored with a great header.  Wests ahead 2-1 at the half time interval.

In the second half possession began to even out as both sides looked to play controlled football.  Although Wests had controlled possession, and dominated chances, Wharfies did look capable of snatching an unlikely equaliser.  The pace of Jimmy Hill was continuing to cause problems for the West defensive line, and on 64 minutes he went past the flat footed Wests centre backs and bore down on goal.  Mike McKinley appeared to win the ball cleanly with a slide tackle from behind but was shown red

However, down to 10 men Wests were still able to match a Wharfies team that was beginning to look a little tired as the higher pace began to take its toll.  The game was effectively over on 70 minutes when Matt Wilson was allowed to advance from the half way line and drive a shot inside the post from 30 yards.  Ten minutes later Dave Johnson reacted quicker than the Wharfies defenders to grab a fourth to make the final score 4-1 to the holders.

Lower Hutt took on Island Bay in a competitive cup tie.  Lower Hutt have struggled to  kill teams off when on top this year and this match was no exception.  Steve Gulley and Michael Madden both had great chances well saved early but Lower Hutt scored after 10 minutes through a calm 14 yard finish from Matt Carnihan.  The rest of the match proved to be a real battle, as both teams struggled to keep posession.  Lower Hutt did manage to edge territory, but couldn't find a killer pass.  

The second half proved to be more of the same, although Hutt did manage to penetrate more down the left hand side through Steven Gulley.  Hutt won a dubious penalty in the 60th minute and Roy Clarke blasted it home to make it 2-0.  Island Bay put the cat amongst the pigeons with a goal on 75 minutes and things were looking a little edgy for Lower Hutt.  Hutt goalkeeper Chris Campbell then slipped a disc in his back and with all three subs used, Michael Madden donned the gloves.  However, he wasn't really troubled and Steve Gulley rolled home the third with 5 minutes to go to make the game safe.

Napier recorded a  comfortable win against Palmerston North Marist, with the result never in danger after two first half goals from the returning David Geary, the first a header, and the second a snap shot from eight yards.  Two minutes into the second half Napier made it three, with Chris McIvor tucking it past the keeper after being put through on goal.  The scoreline was completed mid-way through the second half when Graham Fyfe curled in a cracking free-kick from 25 yards to make it 4-0.

The upset of the day came in the Stop Out game against Wairarapa United.  Whilst Stop Out dominated possession, Wairarapa grabbed the only goal of the game after some pin-ball in the box.  Stop Out were found lacking in the final third and were unable to break down a Wairarapa side who were very effective in getting numbers behind the ball.

Miramar easily accounted for Kapiti United 4-0.  The first goal was came after a mix up between the KCU goal-keeper and defender resulted in a weak punch straight to Keichi Nguyen who acrobatically volleyed back over the stranded keeper from the edge of the box.  Matt Keane doubled the lead with 10 minutes to go in the first half, flicking a header past the advancing KCU keeper from a dangerous cross from the left.

KCU came into the game more in the second half and had a number of chances that were well saved by Miramar keeper Sacha Nathu.  With 20 minutes to go Miramar substitute Chris Peck put the game beyond doubt when he drove the ball home from the edge of the box before embarking on a 30 yard celebratory dance with plenty of arm waving.  The score line was increased in the final minute when JP Hassan pounced after the KCU keeper spilled a cross from Michelle Zanotto.

In other matches, Marist ran up eleven unanswered goals against Waikanae, Olympic beat Naenae 4-1, Petone struggled to overcome North Wellington 2-1, Tawa beat Eastbourne 6-1, Gisborne City thrashed Fielding 10-1, Wellington United triumphed 1-0 over Upper Hutt and in the glamour clash of the round, University beat Stokes Valley 4-0.