Spirit FC went some way
to redeeming itself for last Friday night’s shock loss to the Otago Youth team
when it fought out a meritorious nil-all draw with Queenstown in their
Soccersouth premier league clash at Frankton yesterday.
Both teams have
something to show from the result as for Queenstown, unbeaten in all games last
year, it was its first point from four games played this season.
Wade Griffin (10) shows courage here as he battles past two Q-T
defenders
Spirit FC player-coach
Ken Cresswell was once again forced to use his youth rotation policy as no less
than five of Friday night’s squad were, for various reasons, unavailable for
the trip to Frankton.
The Spirit back four
was the key to it closing down the Queenstown attackers as its captain Steve
Black, Adam Letts, Ken Cresswell and Matty Burgess all turned strong defensive
efforts.
Q-T's Luke Baldock (left) shadows Spirit's Billy Haslam
Black in particular
having been shifted from a mid field role relished the move and led the team
with a player of the day display.
Cresswell belied his
age and proved there’s no substitute for experience when constantly
out-smarting and at times dispossessing Queenstown’s feared striker Dara
McGrenaghan.
On attack the Spirit
youngsters ran well and positioned themselves well but at crucial times were
simply out-muscled off the ball by their physically stronger Queenstown
opponents.
Here's an example as Q-T's Steve Henderson (black) disposseses
Spirit's
Campbell Edwards.
The two attacking
highlights of the day occurred in the opening ten minutes when Queenstown’s
Luke Baldock speculated a long- range shot on the Spirit goal that crashed to
safety off the upright with Spirit keeper Chris Pearson well out of his ground.
Spirit’s immediate
response was a corner kick at the other end that Adam Letts headed with some
velocity but it skimmed the crossbar and went out of play.
...
...
Three pics of Barry Gardiner in action especially for his
nephew back home in Scotland.
Anything to make a young lad happy...and i'll bet his nephew's pleased too.
Queenstown was reduced to ten players fifteen minutes from full-time when Mike Miello was shown a second yellow card and subsequently was sent from the field.
However it managed to hold Spirit at bay to the final whistle.
April
6th
Spirit FC 0 v Otago Development 3;
Spirit FC’s strong
start to the Soccersouth premier league season came to an abrupt end last night
when it was soundly beaten by the Otago youth development team 3-nil at Rugby
Park Invercargill.
As disheartening as it
was for Spirit coach Ken Cresswell to see his team turn in a sub-standard
performance it must have been equally as heartening for the Otago coaches Neil
McKenzie and Roger Brooks to watch their young charges grab the unlikely but
deserved win.
While there were
several better than average performances for the Development team, notably the
James Govan and Tom Jackson strike duo, its hero was goalkeeper Matt Scoles.
Scoles is the only
overage player in the team, a dispensation allowed under the rules of the
competition, and his role is to add support to the squad as it prepares for its
Milk cup campaign in Ireland in July.
He did that in style
last night with a polished all-round performance between the sticks that
included a spectacular save early in the game from a Tobi Reid header and a
penalty save from a Barry Gardiner effort early in the second half when Spirit
was applying its strongest period of pressure on the Otago defence.
At the other end
Spirit’s keeper Shane Elliott was turning in an equally impressive performance
but without the luxury of a solid defensive wall to aid him.
Otago Development went
into the half time break leading 2-nil courtesy of an own goal from Spirit and a
tap in by Fraser Cameron from a Spirit defensive mix-up.
Spirit peppered the
Otago penalty area for the first thirty minutes of the second spell but
Scole’s effort and some woeful Spirit finishing kept it off the score-sheet.
It was made to pay
dearly when the ever-alert Govan slotted Otago’s third goal at the
seventy-minute mark to wrap the game up for the visitors.
The Spirit team travels
to Queenstown on Monday for its next game and no doubt will have a strong
message from Cresswell ringing in its ears on the journey.