Coast football finalists found
All eyes were on Paroa this weekend to see if they could finally get themselves over the line to claim the league title. They faced a Marist side that were short on numbers but determined to put up a fight, rather than let Paroa stroll to a win. A fiercely fought game finally ended 1-1. Goals came from Rob Orr for Paroa and Sam Martin for Marist. Martin McDonald put in a strong performance in midfield to earn Paroa’s player of the day and David Lowe did likewise for Marist.
This result leaves the league all but confirmed, with Paroa now three points clear at the top of the table with a commanding goal difference. In order for Westport Cos, in second place, to claim victory, in the last round of the main competition Paroa need to lose to Grey United and Westport Cos need to beat Marist, all the while overturning a 13-goal deficit.
In the other game, in what was meant to be an uneventful end to the season, there was some drama between Westland United and Grey United, but unfortunately for the wrong reasons. A back and forth first half somehow ended 0-0 after some misses, along with great saves from Franko Horridge in the Grey United goal. Jeremy Green, Westland’s player of the day, finally broke the deadlock in the second half, finding the net twice. Unfortunately, frustration boiled over for some players and unnecessary abuse directed towards the referee forced the game to be abandoned after 70 minutes.
Saturday sees Westport Cos travel down to face Paroa in the Cup Final at 2pm. After narrowly beating Paroa up in Westport a few weeks ago, and after this weekend’s result, Westport will definitely fancy their chances of getting their hands on the trophy.
There were plenty of goals in the two women’s games this weekend. The Goblins were short on numbers, playing with only seven players against the Comets. They put in a really solid first half performance, going into the break only 2-1 down. However, the numbers began to tell in the second half, with the Comets eventually winning 7-1. Eve Findlay put in a great performance, scoring the Goblins only goal and being awarded their player of the day. Rosa Cooper scored a hat-trick for the Comet’s, along with two for Lammie Lamason and one each for Connie Duell and Sarah Burdeon. Nikita Stevenson was the Comet’s player of the day.
In the later game, Westland United and the Dragons played out an exciting 3-3 draw. The Dragons took the early lead, before Westland tied the game before half time. Westland took the lead twice in the second half, but were pegged back both times. Ngawai Tahi scored twice for Westland, along with a great individual effort for Kathryn Curnow. Jess Jackson put in a great performance in defence to earn Westland United’s player of the day. At the other end, Shelley Larsson earned the Dragons player of the day. Amelia How continued her scoring form right to the end of the season with another two goals, to finish the season with 22. Janny Verveer scored the Dragons other goal.
Both the Comets and Westland United got a good workout before Saturday’s cup final. Kick-off is at 12.30pm at Arthur Fong.