Cup Follows Form Guide
Posted on Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Park Life is the Fever's strip-joint-visiting pervy uncle who holds your hand just a little too long when he shakes it and today we review a weekend of goal-fest Big Cup action with hardly a surprise in sight.
Jimmy Haidakis Sinks Petone at Home
It was a cold and bumpy Petone Memorial that greeted the Greeks, the home side, and Fever's faithful pie-munching correspondent on Saturday for a replay of the recent League tie that saw a plucky Petone triumph 2-1.
While he was waiting for the match to get underway � and downing what would be one of two pies consumed during the match � Park Life's correspondent perused the glossy match day programme looking for team lists. We didn't find any but we have a few observations nonetheless:
1. Petone's Puma tracksuits are very snappy.
2. Is it just us or is Jim Bannatyne's hand not on his own knee in the cover photo?
3. In the same photo, does Michael Pickering (front row, second from right) have the smallest forearms in the world?
4. Paul "Stick" Whitmarsh's player profile states that, of all players, he would most like to play with Stevie G. We've no doubt that Stop Out's $teve Gulley is flattered but Petone are unlikely to be able to lure him away from his mega-buck deal at the Raceway.
"Peep" went the referee's whistle to save us from our programme inspection but as we looked up across our steak and cheese the shocks continued. Who was that hairy looking left back? It looked a lot like a Division 7 striker we've seen lately. And it was, in fact, Karl Whalen, making an unexpected appearance as cover for injuries and unavailabilities. Also a bit of a surprise was the appearance of Tom Kelly at right wing for the Greeks.
From the off the early play was all Petone, with Whitmarsh and Pickering fashioning some early space and Rowan McKay getting his shooting boots on to lash a shot at Sasha Nathu from 25 yards after the ball spilled out to the edge of the box.
In the same passage of play Olympic defender Tahl Theodorou picked up an injury, forcing the first of three substitutions that Craig Hopkins and Shaun Easthope would make in the opening 30 minutes of play.
Despite having to shuffle the decks Olympic slowly gained a measure of control over the match and it was them that opened the scoring in the 32nd minute when good work from Anthony Neonakis down the right flank fed Jimmy The Mouth the ball at the top of the box. It left him with a lot of work to do though and he did well to hold off the Petone defender and dribble across the top of the box before curling one in to the top corner with his left foot.
Petone found possession hard to hold and chances hard to come by. Leighton Arraj had a strike from distance after a back post header from Whitmarsh landed at his feet but it didn�t trouble Nathu in the Olympic goal.
The confidence was oozing from the greasy Greeks but Petone rallied and a midfield scrap began. First Raf de Gregorio had his sock ripped to shreds by a pair of Petone studs only to find the referee had given the free kick against him, and then Mikey Halikias was forced to the sideline after an elbow opened up a gash just above his eye.
More affected than most was referee Matt Bull and a period of comedy decisions ensued.
Two of the finest were:
1. Free kick awarded to Petone in front of Olympic dugout. Olympic team up in arms. Abuse hurled at ref from supporters, players and management. Referee bottles it, shouts out: "Sorry, sorry, I just held up the wrong arm." Free kick reversed.
2. Petone defender rolls stitch up back pass to Jim Bannatyne, who has the sense to not pick it up and goes into a tackle with his feet against Olympic winger Tom Kelly. Kelly clearly touches the ball and then Jim picks it up. Referee awards free kick for hand ball and gives big Jim a yellow card. Petone stack 11 man wall in front of the kick and from the resulting corner Olympic can't create anything. Justice after a ludicrously inept decision.
Somewhere in there half time, and another pie, came and went. Mmmm. Pies.
More of the same from both sides as the scrap continued for possession and dominance in the second spell and the referee continued to make a hash of even the most straight forward decisions.
A combination of the ref, the ground, and the absence of a few key players really killed this as a spectacle, but Jimmy The Mouth killed it off as a game when he latched onto a ball cleared from a corner and found Jim Bannatyne gardening on the edge of his 18 yard box. Faced with a decision between backpeddling and charging out Jimbo charged but Jimmy The Mouth top poked it under the advancing airliner to make it 2-0
Whitmarsh gave Petone a sniff of extra time in the 82nd when he lashed home a cross at the back post but it was too little too late and when 22 battered a bruised players trudged off the field the final score was 2-1 and Olympic had progressed to play Wilson United at home in the last 16.
Miramar Pound Hapless Inglewood
The only changes in the Miramar line-up from the side that annihilated Karori 7-0 were the return of New Zealand Under 23 camper Cole Tinkler, into the midfield to partner Michael Eagar and Brook Tozer who came onto the left flank to replace Jeremy Brockie, unavailable due to the flu.
With Mt. Taranaki visible beyond the beautiful surroundings of the ground a large crowd had gathered on the touchline to support their local side. The game started in sunny conditions on a firm Karo Park surface.
Miramar took control in the opening exchanges controlling possession and opening the scoring in just the 4th minute through Michael Eagar when Dominic Rowe found space on the left and delivered a dangerous ball across the Inglewood goal. The home defence could only clear the ball to the feet of Eagar at the edge of the box and Eagar looked up and fired a left foot shot low and past the keeper into the left hand corner to make it 1-0.
Just 5 minutes later Miramar were on the board again when Cole Tinkler gained possession on halfway and delivered a long ball out to the left which found Rowe in space. Rowe looked up and from just outside the box superbly curved his right foot shot into the far corner of the net to make it 2-0.
The next goal came when Tinkler, who was beginning to dominate the middle, delivered a pinpoint long ball which found Peter Halstead in space just on the Inglewood side of half way. Halstead surged towards goal, losing his defender, and then rounded the keeper and slotted into an empty net to make it 3-0 after just 15 minutes.
Miramar concluded their scoring for the first half in the 25th minute when Allen Chote broke from the back down the right flank, his ball over the Inglewood defence found Rowe open 40 metres out from goal. Rowe raced past his defender, came to the keeper and strolled past him taking the ball to the left of the goal, and slotted to make it 4-0.
Miramar coach Graham Little made a double change at the break bringing Nik Tromp for Gerard Brown, and Shane Medland for Jamie Farrington. Miramar continued to threaten Inglewood in all areas. Brook Tozer, who was having an impressive game on the left flank, this time found himself open on the right, he played a ball into the box for an incoming Tinkler who then squared the ball back to an unmarked Halstead who made no mistake from near the penalty spot with a right foot finish to make it 5-0 after 48 minutes.
Miramar added their 6th in the 52nd minute when a neat interchange of passes between Nik Tromp and Brook Tozer saw Tromp played through into the box. He slotted the ball past the keeper to make 6-0. Miramar made their third and final substitution in the 53rd minute when Tommy Smith came on for Dominic Rowe
Inglewood struggled to produce anything going forward in the match against a solid Miramar back four. This was typified by the fact that their first corner came just under an hour into the match, and their best chance came a minute later when they received a free kick just outside the box. However, their keeper who was now playing as a striker upfront could only put his shot over the top of Dylan Hall�s goal.
Tozer continued to trouble the Inglewood defence and after a good run down the left, delivered a ball into Smith inside the box, Smith turned his marker and his powerful low shot rocketed past the keeper into the bottom right corner of the net to make it 7-0 after 60 minutes.
Peter Halstead completed his hat-trick in the 78th minute. The Inglewood defence was unable to clear another Miramar attack, the ball fell to an open Halstead inside the box on the right of the goal, and he made no mistake in volleying his shot past the keeper into the top left hand corner making it 8-0.
The referee called time 12 minutes later with the game ending 8-0 to Miramar. They advance where, to everyone's absolute astonishment, they will not face Olympic at home.
Lower Hutt Take revenge for Park Island Drubbing
Big Travel League's Lower Hutt and Napier City Rovers met again just a month after Napier gave Lower Hutt a lesson in open counter attacking football at the fabulous Blue Water Stadium.
That result was put as far back in the minds of the players as the memory of captain Phil Patterson's debut though when Lower Hutt popped up to win it 4-2. Patterson, 384 games on from that black and white debut for the yellow and greens is still leading by example though, scoring two of his teams 4 goals.
The start of the game was an even affair until a poor clearance was lashed into the roof of the net from just out side the box from Captain Fantastic himself.
Hutt then started to dominate with speed and width from Ginger Ronaldo and OK Corrales and it wasn't long before Blackburn found Captain Fantastic with a far post free kick that had a fully-stretched Patterson flying through the air like Super Man to finish off a lovely set piece move.
Napier then made it 2 - 1 but Hutt continued to run riot with Corrales putting the Ginger through to make it 3.
Jason Pepping slotted one nicely into the bottom corner to give Napier a sniff but man of the match Corrales put on a show of lightning pace to intercept a back pass and beat the keeper to put the result beyond doubt.
Lower Hutt advance to a soggy Centennial Park in the next round where they will face G Little's high flying Miramar Rangers.
Wests Too Good for Visiting Maycenvale
Park Life couldn't find anyone to cover this game for us. Perhaps we should stop looking for correspondents in the Wests clubrooms after the game! Boom boom.
Our spies tell us however that this was a one sided affair. Those spies are fairly sh*t though because they failed to alert us to the return of Rupert Ryan, from injury, and Craig Henderson, from America.
Perhaps that was for the best. If Maycenvale had known that a former All White and a future All White were going to team up against them in the centre of midfield they might have saved themselves the bus ride.
Henderson is Park Life's favourite player in the world who is under 23 and has a Kiwi passport. We predict a call up to the full national side in the not too distant future.
Rupert Ryan is Park Life's favourite player in the world closer to 43 than 23 who once played for the All Whites and now sometimes coaches Wests' reserves. He really is class.
Maycenvale aren't class though. They're pants. Our sideline spies reckon this one could have been 15-2 as easily as it was 5-2. Maycenvale's 2 coming both within a minute. One a poor pass by Sam Abu-Akhbar-Peters and the other a defensive mix up and a tidy finish.
Otherwise this one could have gone the way of Miramar's match.
Wests will be a bit concerned though. They seem to be good for a goal a game at the back.
Nonetheless they go through to the next round where for the first time they have given up home advantage as they travel across town to the Zoo to play Olympic.
And Le Hugo's Small Action Keeps United Alive in the Big Travel League
Stop Out's clubrooms were throbbing to the beat of the visiting Tui Girls over the weekend. Park Life was disappointed, although unsurprised, not to get an invitation.
But the partying would have been one notch quieter than it might have been after United successfully overcame The Pope's Own Marist in Palmerston North.
This is a good result for the Oranje. Palmy aren't easy to beat at home and generally field a stronger side in Palmy than they do away.
Sidelines spies suggest that United were the stronger side throughout despite the close scoreline. The match is notable for lifting United temporarily to 6th on the Big Travel League table. They won't stay there though, having played 2 more games than next placed Lower Hutt.
Also worth mentioning is the winning goal scored by recent addition Le Hugo.
Le Hugo's goal, which he apparently dubbed "a small action", consisted of pretty much a mazy run through the entire Marist midfield, some edge of box trickery, and a calm finish to give United the win.
Coach Rossco has since promised never to use the word "release" from the touch line again.
And that's it from an exhausted Park Life.
Park Life
