Capital 16
MATCH REPORTS
Game 3 vs Wellington United Legends - MacAlister Park
With a few more players fronting for the first time, it was a very much revised line-up that took the field against the Nighthawks. Winning the toss and playing with the advantage of a strong wind and something of a slope, the Valley side got off to a promising start, although Naenae quickly took advantage of the Stokes Valley players’ lack of familiarity with each other’s game. Miss-communication amongst the defenders and a slip by the goalkeeper saw an untidy goal conceded before the score was evened up when a ball chipped from the back eluded the defence for Aidan Stronach to round his marker and neatly slot in the equaliser. The team was working hard, but another defensive lapse between players who hardly knew each other’s names let alone their pattern of play saw Naenae go ahead with a strong shot from just inside the area. The home side were pressing more and more, their defence were playing no-risk ‘bang it away’ style, but against smaller players it was working, and Valley ‘keeper Paul Schipper was forced into a smart tip-over. Into the wind it was always going to be a tough assignment, but a crucially mistimed back-pass saw another goal gifted to the opposition. With several players picking up knocks, the side was down on substitutions and largely forced back into their own half. The few breakouts the Valley did manage were generally mounted via midfield lynchpin Andy Brown, but were quickly subdued, with few attacks of menace mounted in the second spell. Inevitably (despite an impassioned sweeping display by defence supremo Ian Stronach) the Naenae tally was extended when a strong wind-assisted shot from some 30 metres saw the ball sailing beyond the keeper’s reach into the top corner to make the final score 1-4. It was a well beaten and leg-weary side that had seen their bright start to the season come back with a bit of a thud. Manager[?]and coach[??] Martin Ryan clearly has some work to do in drawing his side together. With more player disruptions in the weeks ahead he needs to quickly mould his ‘bits and pieces’ team into a unit. As one of the youngest half-sides in the competition, paramount will be the need to instil in the younger players a plan to work around larger and taller players with speed and guile. From this reporter’s look at both games, it’s certainly something the wily old Ryan is capable of achieving. Reporter – Deft Touch Game 1 vs Upper Hutt Slayers - Awaikarangi park
A hastily thrown together side, composed of a few middle aged ‘veterans’ mixed in with a handful of students, met each other for the first time 20 minutes before the match started. Under the guidance of Martin Ryan, the plainly named Stokes Valley Capital 16 side was largely made up of the left-overs from the Second and Masters teams; it really was a team of the ages – all ages! On a brick-hard pitch the game got off to a lively start, with Stokes Valley scoring with their first play of the game, courtesy of new signing Aidan Stronach. A generally younger fitter side [Is this wishful thinking? – Ed] up against larger, but seemingly less agile and less fit players, it seemed that more goals would quickly flow. And they did. Problem was it was the Slayers who netted next. A neatly headed goal from Morehu Rei turned the game in the Valley’s favour and they took a 2-1 lead into the break. For a team only just brought together, they seemed to be gelling remarkably well, and the signs were promising for a strong second half showing. Despite playing into the sun, the second half started out brightly with Stronach bagging another goal with a strong shot, before Nanib Haddad took the advantage to three goals with a tidy knock in. Not surprisingly, the team’s performance fell off somewhat after this and even though they’d initially defended well with young Daniel Watson prominent, they conceded a sloppy second goal before the final whistle blew with the score at 4-2. A satisfying start to the season for this hastily assembled side, with a number of the younger players showing out strongly. The omens are looking good. Reporter – Deft Touch